Research States That Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Cause No Threat

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved of the genetically modified mosquitoes on August 5.

According to The Scientist, Hadyn Parry, the CEO of Oxitec, the firm that is producing the GM mosquitoes stated that "We've been developing this approach for many years, and from these results we are convinced that our solution is both highly effective and has sound environmental credentials"

Though FDA has approved the use of the mosquitoes, it does not mean that they are approved for commercial use. The agency has specifically stated that the mosquitoes "will not have significant impacts on the environment."

As per the field trial that was conducted by Oxitec in Brazil, the release of the GM mosquitoes helped drop the dengue cases up to 90 percent.

The British company, Oxitec also explains that the male mosquitoes are made in such a way that their offspring will cease to live even before they reach an adult stage. This way, the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, that cause diseases like dengue and Zika, can be reduced to a great extent.

For further understanding, Oxitec wants to perform a field trial in Florida Keys to check whether the GM mosquitoes help in effectively bringing down the Aedes aegypti population.

According to the FDA, "Oxitec is responsible for ensuring all other local, state, and federal requirements are met before conducting the proposed field trial, and, together with its local partner, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, to determine whether and when to begin the proposed field trial in Key Haven, Florida." The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District will also decide when and if the field trial should be done in Key Haven, Florida.

However, it has been noticed that the people in the Florida town are not too keen to have the test in their locality.