NOTE: The new briefing referred to here, 'Genetically engineered mosquitoes in
the U.S.' is available as a pdf: http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/df/1/959/1/Issue_brief_GE_mosquitoes_in_U.S.pdf
See also the link at the end of the piece below for how to register your
concerns with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District.
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Floridians face genetically engineered mosquito threat
Eric Hoffman
December 21 2011
http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/df/1/959/1/Issue_brief_GE_mosquitoes_in_U.S.pdf
A private firm is planning to release potentially harmful genetically engineered
mosquitoes in the Florida Keys as early as January, endangering human health and
the environment in what would become the first-ever U.S. release of these
engineered bugs.
The genetically engineered mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, are produced by UK-based
biotechnology company Oxitec so their offspring will die at a young age in an
effort to lower mosquito populations and limit the spread of dengue fever. While
attempts to limit the spread of disease are laudable, health, environmental and
ethical challenges face what would be the first-ever release of genetically
engineered mosquitoes in the U.S.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes have already been released by Oxitec in the
Cayman Islands, Malaysia and Brazil. Despite claims that its mosquitoes are
sterile and have eradicated dengue fever the mosquitoes are in fact fertile and
Oxitec has never successfully eradicated dengue fever from any population. The
company has only shown its technology can reduce mosquito populations in the
immediate term in controlled settings. Oxitec has not proven such population
reductions lead to disease eradication.
The United States could be the next testing ground for Oxitec. The company plans
to release its genetically engineered mosquitoes in Key West as early as January
2012 - pending regulatory approval. Oxitec intends to release 5,000 to 10,000
genetically engineered mosquitoes over a two week period into an undisclosed
36-square-acre block - likely near the Key West Cemetery.
Many questions about genetically engineered mosquitoes remain unanswered:
Who will regulate their release and who will be legally and financially
liable if something goes wrong?
What impact will a major decrease in Aedes aegypti population have on the
local food chain and ecosystem? Could other more dangerous bugs take its place,
such as the Asian Tiger mosquito which is one of the most invasive species on
the planet?
Will Oxitec be required to obtain the free and informed consent of Key West
residents (unlike in the Cayman Islands where "no public consultation was
undertaken on potential risks and informed consent was not sought from local
people")?
What happens when Oxitec's mosquitoes survive into adulthood (since 3-4
percent have been found to do just that despite the flaw engineered into their
genome)?
Although Oxitec plans to only release male genetically engineered
mosquitoes, what are the risks if female genetically engineered mosquitoes are
released (since the company sorts them by hand and up to 0.5 percent of the
released insects are in fact female)? Since females bite humans, how could this
impact human health? Will it hamper efforts to limit the spread of dengue fever?
Since Oxitec cannot completely eliminate a mosquito population will
countries and communities become dependent on Oxitec for the indefinite future?
What economic impacts will such dependence have on communities?
Until these and many other questions are answered it would be premature for
Florida or the U.S. government to approve Oxitec's planned release of
genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys or anywhere else in the
U.S.
Check out our new fact sheet to learn more about these risks and send your own
questions and concerns to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District to help
ensure the Florida Keys aren't allowed to turn into Oxitec's next lab
experiment. Click here http://www.keysmosquito.org/contact-us.html
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