Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida Keys

Everyone, especially in those sweet, sweet South Jersey summers that we all miss now, has had to deal with the dreaded mosquito. They bite, and when they are out in full force at dusk, they can leave your entire body covered with itchy red bites. This is not the only problem however. They also carry a boatload of different diseases, and with the changing climate and increased trade by ship, these mosquitoes and certain diseases once only endemic to the tropics have begun their trek northward towards the United States. Dengue fever, and chikungunya have been reported in parts of southern Florida. West Nile virus has made an appearance in New Jersey as well. This problem could get much worse as climate warms, these diseases will continue to spread farther and farther north.

There is some hope however. This article explains more. A British biotech firm has developed a way to breed mosquitoes with genes from the e. coli bacteria, herpes simplex virus, coral, and cabbage. Apparently, this interesting gene cocktail is harmless to humans and other animals, but deadly to mosquito larva. This company then proposed to release only male non biting mosquitoes into a Florida neighborhood, with the hopes that they would breed with the native population females, in turn effectively killing most of the mosquito population in the next generation. Understandably, many residents do not feel comfortable about releasing a GMO that can bite them, in their neighborhood. My concern is that mosquitoes, even though a nuisance, are part of an already established food chain in which they play a part in. Bats, and other animals eat mosquitoes, and I am not sure how killing them off would affect local populations of their predators. The other concern is that female mosquitoes that are missed in the sorting process could bite people and pass on their modified genes to other organisms.

Before releasing any genetically modified mosquitoes, more research should be done to determine if  there could be any unintended consequences. Here is some more information on mosquitoes.