Aug. 19 (UPI) — Local authorities in the Florida Keys gave their approval Wednesday to a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent the spread of dengue fever and other diseases.
The Monroe County Mosquito Control District signed off on the project, which would release about 750 million mosquitoes engineered to produce dead offspring. The state and U.S. government have already given their approval.
It’ll be the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in the United States, and some health officials and members of the public have questioned the safety of such a plan.
“With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the state of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment,” said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center or Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety.
Florida Keys to release 750M genetically modified mosquitoes
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