Just last week, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District released THOUSANDS (20,000 to be exact) of male mosquitoes infected with naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria into the ecosystem in the hopes of combating the dreaded Zika. The hope is that the wild female mosquitoes will mate with the lab-bred mosquitoes and when that happens, the offspring produced won’t survive to adulthood- if their eggs even hatch. It’s a way to breed out mosquitoes carrying Zika.
The mosquitoes are being supplied by the Kentucky-based company, MosquitoMe. The trial is expected to last about three months with mosquito releases twice a week. In order to drive down the population, seven Wolbachia-infected males, for each wild male, should be released.
From the article:
“The Keys trial is MosquitoMate’s second U.S. test with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, after a similar trial in Clovis, California, last year. Stock Island is about 130 miles southwest of Miami, where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were blamed for spreading the Zika virus last year.
Keys officials are still considering a separate test of mosquitoes genetically modified by the British biotech firm Oxitec to produce Aedes aegypti offspring that die outside a lab. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially approved a trial in a residential neighborhood near Key West, saying the test would not significantly affect the environment, but outrage from anti-GMO activists and residents forced the district to find a new location.”
(Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are responsible for spreading Zika, dengue fever, and chikungunya.)
MosquitoMate is also awaiting permits from the EPA to sell the Asian tiger mosquito infected with Wolbachia as a pest control service, as well.
And speak of the DEVIL, Mosquito Mate was just on TV along with our site in this lovely piece which some call a hit piece on CBS about our website Health Nut News! < click to read and watch!
Source: CBS Miami
