Dengue Fever afflicts millions of people around the world. It is a virus that is spread by a specific mosquito, the Aedes aegypti. Dengue fever can develop into a more serious disease Dengue hemorrhagic fever which can be fatal. Aedes aegypti is native to Africa, but has spread to other areas including the southern United States.
Oxitec, a company in Oxford, has genetically engineered the Aedes aegypti mosquito so that any males that mate in the wild will produce non-viable offspring. They believe this modification will reduce the population of this particular disease carrying mosquito and unlike pesticide use, will leave other populations of native mosquitoes intact. But when Oxitec tried to introduce their genetically modified mosquito to Key West, the residents were up in arms. They did not want any part of “Robo-Frankenstein mosquitoes” in their backyard.
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View the original article here: Key West, Florida, says NO to genetically engineered mosquitoes
