Mosquitoes can carry deadly diseases. Courtesy | Facebook
The U.K.-based biotechnology company Oxitec has released genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild, including in the United States. While these mosquitoes can help limit the spread of diseases like the Zika virus, the execution of the plan and the health concerns it poses outweigh the benefits.
Oxitec’s mosquitoes carry one of two genetic modifications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have either a self-limiting gene, which causes female offspring to die before becoming adults, or a fluorescent marker gene, which glows under a red light for easy tracking in the wild. The goal of these modifications is to prevent the outbreak of diseases by reducing the number of “aedes aegypti” mosquitoes.
Oxitec has released genetically modified male mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. As of June, the Keys remained the only place in the U.S. where the company has released mosquitoes, according to The Associated Press.
The Environmental Protection Agency said there would be no “unreasonable adverse effects” for humans, assuming proper precautions are followed.
If Americans have learned anything in the last three years, it’s that they shouldn’t blindly trust the CDC and the EPA with their health and safety.
Americans saw how quickly the COVID vaccine and boosters came out. It was Operation Warp Speed. Now we see myocarditis in young men and shame for noncompliance. The agency warped safety concerns into a matter of power.
According to Beyond Pesticides, a nonprofit focused on public health and the environment, the Cayman Islands failed to renew their contract with the company, mainly due to disappointing trial results.
There were also concerns that releasing the mosquitoes could spread antibiotic resistance or lower individual immunity, according to Beyond Pesticides.
Some scientists raised concerns over a lack of proper regulation and scientific review, according to international environmental group Friends of the Earth.
More recently, Oxitec took back its application to release billions of genetically modified mosquitoes in Tulare County California.
Initiatives like this are much more than science and data. The people of California would have had to deal with any negative repercussions and environmental impacts of the mosquitoes.
“There are too many unknown factors when it comes to how [GE mosquitoes] could affect our biodiversity in the long run, including how this might influence populations of birds, bats, fish species, and other insects,” Democratic California Assemblymember Laura Friedman said.
Along with Friedman, several California legislators sent a letter to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The lawmakers outlined concerns with Oxitec and said the EPA’s review process was incomplete.
“We believe that the U.S. EPA review process was incomplete and that it is premature for the state of California to consider the Oxitec application without more diligent federal review,” the letter reads. “There are many issues not addressed by U.S. EPA’s review and there is insufficient data for the public to comment on the proposal or know its consequences.”
While regulations are restrictive and involve government overreach, this is a case in which regulations are urgently needed. Companies should not be able to go into a community and perform science experiments without strict regulations and guidelines. Members of the community need to know they are safe and that the government won’t let a company take advantage of them
