Fighting Mosquitoes with Mosquitoes

Abstract

A first-of-its-kind open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes has been conducted by scientists in the US. The biotechnology company Oxitec, spearheading these experiments, claims to have obtained positive results. However, much more elaborate and intricate studies are needed to establish whether these mosquitoes can suppress a wild population of mosquitoes that serve as viral carriers for chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. The study has been greenlit since April 2021 and is underway in the Florida Keys which are a group of tropical islands on the southern tip of Florida. Over the course of seven months, approximately 5 million genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were released by Oxitec and the firm has now completed the evaluation of almost all the release sites. The firm which is situated in Abingdom, United Kingdom showcased its results in a webinar on April 6th but is yet to publish. About 22,000 eggs were captured and taken back to the labs for observational hatching. Oxitec claims that all the female mosquitoes harboring the lethal gene died prior to adulthood. Nature 604, 608-609 (2022).