The main drawback is that this modified gene only lasts for a limited number of mosquito generations, i.e. less than a year. But that a trace that has long been considered to reduce infection from insect-borne diseases, such as malaria or zika.
In this case, British biotech firm Oxitec dreams (and works) of attacking dengue fever since 2013). Dengue fever usually causes mild but fatal symptoms in nearly 1% of cases. Gold, according to WHO documents, there are 390 million infections a year. This is an estimate, not all cases are reported. And the heating allows the mosquitoes of the species Temples of the Egyptians, which are carriers, to reproduce in new territories.
The genetic change targets the male mosquito, as only the female bites. Therefore, the modified gene ensures that only the male larvae survive. The experiment mentioned here took place from May 2018 to April 2019 in four densely populated neighborhoods of Indaiatuba, in the state of Sao Paulo. Comparing with neighboring counties, where these mosquitoes have not been released, the researchers arrived at population reductions that ranged between 88 and 96%.
But it is not a permanent solutionemphasize the researcher their articlespublished on 25 October a Borders in Biotechnology and Biotechnology. They estimate that the modified gene eventually disappears from the insect population after six generations, or about six months.
Similar experiments, involving other groups of researchers, have been conducted in recent years, in Australia in 2014and in Indonesia by 2020. In the latter case, we observe A 77% reduction in dengue fever cases. The Oxitec company conducted the same experiment in Florida in the summer of 2021, despite local opposition. Next goal it could be California. You should know that some parts of the United States it is one of the riskiest areashot help, to see this spread Temples of the Egyptians.
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