Everyone has heard all about the Zika virus by now, and recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have officially classified it as a sexually transmitted disease. This means that it can be transmitted between bodily fluids, and in the United States alone, there has been 16 cases of sexually transmitted Zika. On top of that, due to traveling, over 1,800 people in the United States has the virus. This number does not even compare to the thousands that are affected in other countries, whether through direct contact with a Zika mosquito, the transfer of bodily fluids, or as a birth defect, however, the United States is trying to prevent higher outbreak numbers.
Therefore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the release of mutant mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. These mosquitoes have been genetically engineered to kill off their disease-carrying mosquito relatives. The mosquitoes are made by Oxitec, a British company, who have modified the mosquitos to carry a lethal gene that causes them and their offspring to die in the wild. Born in a lab, they have been modified to be male and will be released in droves. After release, the genetically engineered males will mate with wild females, who will have offspring that are sterile, which means they are unable to reproduce viable offspring. After about four days in the wild, the original males that were released will die, and their offspring will also die without ever having reproduced any more disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Consequently, because mosquito reproduction will have decreased, the wild mosquito population will be significantly reduced, so less mosquitoes will be able to carry dangerous diseases.
Currently, the mutant mosquitoes have been tested in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands, and they have reduced mosquito populations by up to 90%. This extremely lessens the possibility of contracting a virus carried by one of the insects, such as Zika, which suggests that their release in Florida will be a positive step in preventing any more Americans from contracting Zika in this country. As Cecilia Kosmann, an entomologist with Oxitec who releases the mutant mosquitoes has said, "We’re fighting mosquitoes with more mosquitoes."
So far, the fight has worked. We'll see if we win the battle in Florida.
