The recent US Presidential election was quite controversial in itself already but in the Florida Keys, there is more to that which could raise some eyebrows. While voters had a choice as to who they wanted to be the next president, their ballots contained another item and this had to do with a desperate but calculated measure to combat Zika virus and dengue.
The end result was that the residents voted for approving a measure that would allow a British company to commence a trial release of genetically modified mosquitoes. As of last count, around 4,200 individuals have reported to testing positive for Zika virus within the United States and this has alarmed authorities that the virus might continue to spread.
However, of 200 cases of locally transmitted Zika nationwide, there have been none that have been reported to have been in the Keys. This could be why some residents oppose this new measure of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes.
NPR reports that amongst these staunch advocates against the release of genetically modified mosquitoes is Megan Hall, who has been quite vocal against the measure. In a meeting of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board in Marathon last Saturday, Hall made an appeal to the board as she begs them not to go forward with the proposed measure.
This measure is not really new since the district has actually been working with British company Oxitec to get federal approval for a trail release of the genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. The proposed measure involves releasing genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the wild which will then mate with female and eventually result to dying offspring.
As to how this proposed measure involving genetically modified mosquitoes would work, Oxitec calls their own approach "self-limiting" since it will cause their own offspring to die. These genetically modified mosquitoes can live and reproduce normally when they are fed a diet that contains an antidote and a heritable fluorescent marker.
This will help distinguish them from native insects and allow them to be managed better. Hopefully, this measure will finally put an end to the battle against the worldwide endemic. Although a pile of dead offspring would seem anti-climactic, this could spell out the end of the virus someday.
