Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Could Soon Be Unleashed in the U.S.
The EPA has given permission to test a controversial pest control method — using engineered mosquitoes to reduce the population of wild ones
Genetically engineered mosquitoes could be released in the United States later this year, after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it approved field tests for them in southern Florida.
On Friday, the EPA said it had granted Oxitec, a British company that specializes in genetically engineered insects, a permit to experiment with using modified mosquitoes to prevent the spread of the Zika virus and dengue fever. The company still needs to get state and local approval; if it does, the trials will start this summer in Monroe County, home of the Florida Keys. Field tests were also approved for Harris County in Texas, where Houston is located. If the tests proceed, it would be the first time these genetically engineered mosquitoes are released in the United States.
Nearly 4 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting dengue fever, according to a 2012 study, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 22,000 people die of a severe version of the disease every year. In 2016, thousands of infants in…
