EPA Authorizes Release of 2 Billion More GMO Mosquitoes as Reports of Malaria Surface in States That Already Released Them

Locally acquired malaria has been nonexistent in the U.S. for the last 20 years. But five such cases have recently been diagnosed — four in Florida and one in Texas — the only two states that have released genetically engineered mosquitoes.

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/epa-gmo-mosquitoes-malaria-cola/

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Northwest · M

There were seven locally acquired cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Sarasota County, FL and one case in Cameron County, TX. There is no evidence to suggest that the cases in the two states are related.

There is no such thing as non-existent, but it's extremely rare.

The EPA released genetically-altered mosquitos, from Oxitec (British company), to make them dependent on the antibiotic tetracycline. Without tetracycline, mosquitoes will not develop into adulthood. They are also genetically altered, to favor the male DNA, so the offspring, will also be born with the same tetracycline dependency. Within a few generations (life cycle is 2 weeks), potentially, the disease carrying mosquitos will be wiped out, without having to resort to pesticides.

There is no causality between the release and the malaria cases.