Genetically Engineered Mosquito Now in America

Zika virus has elevated many tensions and worries among the world’s population since last several months. Scientists from all around the world are making attempts to cut down the spread of this virus. To reduce the spread of this virus, genetically engineered mosquitoes have been produced. Male mosquitoes containing the gene are released to mate with wild females. These male mosquitoes contain a gene that will kill their offspring before they reach adulthood. In other words, they will reduce the mosquito population. These insects have shown effectiveness in Brazil and other countries in reducing the mosquito population that transmit both Zika and dengue fever. The Federal Government has approved the release of genetically engineered mosquitoes into the wild for the first time in the United States. It has been allowed to see if the field test might help slow the spread of the Zika virus. A British company, Oxitec has developed the genetically engineered mosquitoes and the test would be done in Florida. The genetically modified mosquitoes would be released up to three times a week for as long as 22 months, to determine whether the population of wild mosquitoes is reduced. The F.D.A and the company have said that the mosquitoes were unlikely to establish themselves in the wild because they are programmed to die. Also, these insects would not cause any problem to people because the male mosquitoes being released do not bite.

I think this field study has a lot of potentials to reduce the mosquito population that spreads the Zika virus. Since the F.D.A. has approved that the genetically engineered insects would not cause any problem for people, then there are some hope that the Zika virus can be prevented from spreading. Also, the applications of these insects have shown positive results in Brazil and some other countries. So, we can hope that Zika virus will be reduced by utilizing the genetically engineered mosquitoes.