GM mosquitoes may be the new tool to fight spread of Zika and other viruses
Trials for genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida have been cleared by US health authorities. These engineered mosquitoes have the potential to reduce mosquito populations and fight the local spread of Zika and other viruses.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that a field trial testing of Intrexon Corp’s genetically modified mosquitoes would not have a significant impact on the environment. The announcement came as Florida officials grapple with the first cases of local Zika transmission in the continental United States.
The Oxitec method involves inserting an engineered gene into male Aedesa egypti mosquitoes. When they mate with female mosquitoes in the wild, they produce offspring that cannot survive to adulthood.
The FDA has been reviewing Oxitec’s application for use of its technology as an investigational new animal drug. Its environmental assessment helps clear the way for the company to begin a clinical trial in Key Haven, Florida that would test whether the genetically modified mosquitoes will suppress the wild populations over time.
Results of that trial would be used to support approval of the company’s technology, a process that could take more than a year. Similar testing in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have shown that the Oxitec mosquitoes can reduce local Aedesaegypti populations by more than 90%.
For years, Intrexon’s Oxitec unit has been working to kick off a trial in the Florida Keys to assess the effectiveness of its mosquitoes to reduce levels of the insects that carry diseases, including Zika, dengue, Yellow Fever and chikungunya.
Sixteen Zika cases that have been spread by local mosquitoes have been identified by Florida health authorities. They are also ramping up aerial pesticide spraying of a Miami neighborhood where all of the people are believed to have been infected.
The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency over Zika’s link to microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems. The agency has suggested that alternative approaches to fighting mosquitoes that carry the virus might be an important way to suppress mosquito populations.
