Officials are considering releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in Houston as part of the fight against the insects known to carry diseases such as the Zika virus.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Harris County, Texas, officials are negotiating with a British biotech company, Oxitec, to release mosquitoes that have been genetically engineered to produce offspring that die.
Oxitec has yet to try out its technology in the U.S. A proposed trial in a Florida Keys suburb never got off the ground last year amid residents’ concerns about genetic engineering.
There have been no documented cases of Zika being locally transmitted in the Houston region. The only homegrown Zika cases in Texas have been in Cameron County, on the border with Mexico.
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Deric Nimmo, principal scientist at Oxitec, called “the release of mosquitoes to control mosquitoes” an important change in the approach [in fighting mosquito-borne illnesses].
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According to the Food and Drug Administration, if Oxitec wanted to conduct a field trial in Texas’ Harris County, the company would have to submit an environmental assessment to the agency.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Genetically modified mosquito use under consideration in Houston
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