“Oxitec is responsible for ensuring all other local, state and federal requirements are met before conducting the proposed field trial,” said the FDA.
The program would release male Oxitec mosquitoes to mate with wild female Aedes aegypti. Only female mosquitoes bite and spread disease.
The program must still be approved by local and state officials, and many residents of the Keys oppose it on principle, because it involves genetic modification.
The board of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, which has the final say, voted in June to put the question on the ballot in November. The referendum will be nonbinding, but a majority of the commissioners say they will abide by the results.
Why is this very important though? …. Simply because it aids in the fight against ZIKA virus.
The Zika mosquito. (Illustration: Adrian Leung, John Saeki/AFP)
According to WHO, Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedesmosquitoes. People with Zika virus disease can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days. WHO also mentions on its website that There is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Links to other neurological complications are also being investigated.
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