The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed with
an environmental assessment submitted by Oxitec and stated
that GE mosquitoes will not have a significant impact on the
environment
The FDA’s report is preliminary but brings the GE mosquitoes
one step closer to being released in Florida
Oxitec, in partnership with the Florida Keys Mosquito
Control District (FKMCD), plans to release the GE mosquitoes
in Key Haven, Florida, an island of the Florida Keys located
about 1 mile east of Key West
By Dr. Mercola
Mosquitoes have been described as the world's deadliest
animals. More aptly, this applies to female mosquitoes, which
are the ones that bite humans. While male mosquitoes survive
quite well by feeding off of flower nectar, females require
meals of blood in order to develop and lay eggs.
The problem is when a female mosquito pierces your skin with
her proboscis: it's similar to inserting a hypodermic needle.
Some of her saliva gets injected into your body as she feeds,
along with any diseases she may be carrying.
Malaria, yellow fever, dengue, encephalitis, chikungunya, and
West Nile virus are all transmitted by mosquitoes. So, too, is
Lyme disease and the latest public health "emergency,"
Zika virus.
There's no debating that mosquitoes can indeed be deadly.
Humans have been waging war against them since ancient times,
when Egyptians began sleeping under nets to avoid their bites.
Later, Native Americans are said to have applied mud to their
skin and used plants to repel the insects.1
Chemicals became the modern weapon of choice; a variety of
insecticides, including DDT, have been (and continue to be) used
to kill mosquitoes, but at a considerable price — widespread
exposure to these toxic chemicals.
Genetic engineering is the latest player in the battle
against mosquitoes. Biotech company Oxitec, the genetically
engineered (GE) mosquitoes' creator, has even spun them as a
"non-chemical insecticide."2
Now, these controversial creatures are one step closer to being
released on U.S. soil.
US Health Regulators Say GE Mosquitoes Are Safe
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed with
an environmental assessment submitted by Oxitec3
and stated that GE mosquitoes will not have a significant impact
on the environment. Technically, this is referred to as a
"finding of no significant impact" (FONSI).4
The FDA's report is preliminary but brings the GE mosquitoes
one step closer to being released in Florida.
If approved, Oxitec, in partnership with the Florida Keys
Mosquito Control District (FKMCD), plans to release the GE
mosquitoes, which go by the name of OX513A, in Key Haven,
Florida, an island of the Florida Keys located about 1 mile east
of Key West.
The mosquitoes have been genetically engineered to carry a
"genetic kill switch," such that when they mate with wild female
mosquitoes, their offspring inherits the lethal gene and cannot
survive.5
To achieve this feat, Oxitec has inserted protein fragments
from the herpes virus, E. coli bacteria, coral and cabbage
looper moth into the insects. The GE mosquitoes have proven
lethal to native mosquito populations.
In the Cayman Islands, for instance, 96 percent of native
mosquitoes were suppressed after more than 3 million GE
mosquitoes were released in the area, with similar results
reported in Brazil.6
GE Mosquitoes Are Intended to Fight Diseases That Pose Little
Threat in Florida
By drastically reducing native Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the
GE Aedes aegypti mosquitoes could theoretically stop the spread
of mosquito-related tropical diseases like chikungunya and
dengue, along with Zika virus.7
The curious part about this is that these diseases pose
little risk in Florida. No confirmed dengue fever cases have
been seen in Key West since November 2010.
And while there have been limited reports of people with Zika
virus living in mainland Florida, the cases were contracted in
South America or the Caribbean. As reported by The Monroe County
Tourist Development Council:8
"Dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika viruses are
currently not a health threat in the Florida Keys including
Key West …
There has never been a report of a locally acquired
case of chikungunya or Zika anywhere in the Florida Keys,
according to officials at the Florida Department of Health
in Monroe County."
Who's Paying for the Release of GE Mosquitoes?
At a town hall meeting on the topic of releasing GE
mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, concerned residents asked some
important questions, including who will be footing the bill for
their release. A member of FKMCD noted that Oxitec is paying, at
least for the experimental release.
Ultimately, if the GE mosquitoes become approved, they could
be sought by governments worldwide, making them a major profit
center.
The Gates Foundation has already spent at least $20 million
to fund their development, and the World Health Organization
(WHO) is on board too.
In a review of five potential weapons against Aedes
mosquitoes, WHO concluded GE mosquitoes "warrant time-limited
pilot deployment, accompanied by rigorous monitoring and
evaluation."9
According to a WHO statement:10,11
"Given the magnitude of the Zika crisis, WHO
encourages affected countries and their partners to boost
the use of both old and new approaches to mosquito control
as the most immediate line of defense.
… For genetically modified mosquitoes, the WHO
Advisory Group has recommended further field trials and risk
assessment to evaluate the impact of this new tool on
disease transmission."
WHO also gave a proverbial nod to releasing male mosquitoes
carrying Wolbachia bacteria. When the infected mosquitoes mate,
the females' eggs are unable to hatch.
Why Isn't the Topic of GE Mosquitoes on the Ballot?
Releasing GE mosquitoes into the environment means local
residents are acting as guinea pigs in Oxitec's experiment
whether they like it or not. Such an issue should be
put up for a vote so the residents can at least have a voice in
the matter.
But as you can see in the video above of the Florida Keys
town hall meeting, officials give residents the run around when
they ask the simple question of why GE mosquitoes aren't on the
ballot.
The officials show the results of a professional face-to-face
survey conducted in 2013 to gauge the public's opinion of GE
mosquitoes. The survey showed the general public was opposed
to the idea, but the officials state that residents are more
informed now than they were then.
Then Chris Creese, Ph.D., Oxitec communications manager,
added the point that you don't need to vote when the government
decides to build roads (likening this to releasing GE mosquitoes
into the wild), which was met by "boos" from the residents in
attendance.
Red Flags Have Already Been Raised
As we've seen in the past with genetically modified organisms
(GMOs), when you tinker with nature, it often comes back to bite
you. There are several glaring problems with assuming these GE
mosquitoes are safe for the human population.12
For starters:
The potential exists for these genes, which hop from one
place to another, to infect human blood by finding entry
through skin lesions or inhaled dust. Such transmission
could potentially wreak havoc with the human genome by
creating "insertion mutations" and other unpredictable types
of DNA damage.13
According to Alfred Handler, Ph.D., a geneticist at the
Agriculture Department in Hawaii, mosquitoes can develop
resistance to the lethal gene and might then be released
inadvertently. Todd Shelly, an entomologist for the
Agriculture Department in Hawaii, said 3.5 percent of the
insects in a laboratory test survived to adulthood, despite
presumably carrying the lethal gene.14
Tetracycline and other antibiotics are now showing up in
the environment, in soil and surface water samples. These GE
mosquitoes were designed to die in the absence of
tetracycline (which is introduced in the lab in order to
keep them alive long enough to breed).
They were designed this way assuming they would NOT have
access to that drug in the wild. With tetracycline exposure
(for example, in a lake) these mutant insects could actually
thrive in the wild.
Public Comment Period on GE Mosquitoes in Florida Ends April 13
The plans to release GE mosquitoes in Florida are receiving
renewed attention and vigor because of Zika virus. But as I
wrote in February, the evidence suggests implicating
Zika virus in rising rates of microcephaly in Brazil may be
a matter of convenience.
Leaders of the public-private partnership between industry
and government may be quickly blaming the rise in microcephaly
on disease-carrying mosquitoes in order to sell more GE
mosquitoes, to sell more toxic insecticides, and to have an
excuse to develop and sell more vaccines. A key point to
remember is that once GE organisms are released, there's no
going back. Even with all the fail-safes in place, nature has a
way of surprising us.
It's happened many times before with GE plants that, contrary
to officials' assurances, escape their test plots and
contaminate the environment, and it's sure to happen again
(especially as more mobile GE insects and
salmon are released).
Also of note is the fact that the diseases the GE mosquitoes
are intended to prevent don't need to be prevented in Florida;
they're already nonexistent or close to it. And this isn't going
to stop with mosquitoes, either. Oxitec is currently field
testing a GE version of the diamondback moth, a known
agricultural pest, especially for crops like
cabbage, broccoli and
cauliflower.
The GE moths have already been laboratory tested in the U.K.
and "caged" field trials took place the summer of 2015 in New
York. During those trials, the moths were released outdoors in a
contained area. Further trials are planned for spring 2016 with
open field trials potentially coming in the summer.
Let Your Voice Be Heard
The FDA is accepting public comments on their preliminary
FONSI for Oxitec's GE mosquitoes for 30 days. The public comment
period ends April 13, 2016. If you'd like to share your opinion
about the release of GE mosquitoes in the Florida Keys and have
a voice in federal decision-making, you can
make your comments at Regulations.gov.
A Change.org petition is also calling for the FDA to reject
the release of GE mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. You can
sign the petition now to voice your support.
Finally, if you live in the Florida Keys area, please voice
your concerns directly to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control
District. You can reach their Key West office by calling
(305-292-7190) or submitting a
comment online. You can also submit your concerns directly
to
officials of Monroe County, Florida. You can find your local
Monroe County commission member here.