They are an army of two billion people who are going to be let loose. An American company, Oxite, has obtained authorization to release genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild to fight against the diseases carried by this insect. ” These are male mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti species, which carry dengue fever, Zika virus infection or even chikungunya. They respond to the code name OX5034. Transgenic tiger mosquitoes will be disseminated in nature with the role of reproducing with females. If they succeed in their mission, the larvae resulting from the mating will not be viable. No tiger mosquito will reach adulthood because it lacks the necessary proteins. Even if all young mosquitoes are affected, it is the females that are targeted, because they are the ones that bite » reports 20 Minutes .
Before this very important operation, large-scale tests were carried out. ” In May 2021, Oxitec released 12,000 transgenic mosquito eggs in Florida. This had the effect of rapidly reducing the population, without noticeable effects on the environment. The advantage is that man no longer uses insecticides which have effects on other species such as bees, point out our colleagues. On the other hand, the mosquito population is reduced but not eliminated. What leaves food for birds and other bats continues the free daily.
Authorization was issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which considered that the process would have no harmful consequences on biodiversity. Results will be closely monitored to assess success. In the event of satisfactory returns, the process could be used in particular to fight against the scourge of malaria. According to United Nations figures, this disease had killed more than 600,000 people in 2020 worldwide.