Tech Invasion! Genetically Modified Mosquitoes underway

The impact of mosquitoes may not be worrisome for some scientists as a certain number of them have chosen to create a set of Genetically Modified (GM) mosquitoes and a trial is underway in the United States’ Florida community of Key West by a British biotechnology company, Oxitec with the hope to counter Dengue fever.

DigitalSENSE News gathered that Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses, which occurs mainly in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world, with symptoms appearing 3 to14 days after the infective bite. Dengue fever is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults. Symptoms, experts say, range from a mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain and rash.

Experts also explained that Genetic Modification (GM), Genetic Manipulation (GM) and Genetic Engineering (GE) all refer to the same thing; the use of modern biotechnology techniques to change the genes of an organism, such as a plant or animal, according to an Australian-based Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

This comes as mosquitoes are reported to have contributed to several deaths via malaria, which is a major public health concern in Nigeria; accounting for 60 per cent of outpatient visits and 30 per cent of hospitalizations among children under five years of age, according to the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), a core component of the President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), launched in Nigeria in 2010. Also, PMI revealed that with a population of about 160 million people, Nigeria has more reported cases of malaria and deaths due to malaria than any other country in the world.

Historically, studies over the years have it that invertebrates are very common vectors of disease; A vector is an organism which spreads disease from one host to another. So, invertebrates spread bacterial, viral and protozoan pathogens by two main mechanisms, mainly via their bites; as in the case of malaria spread by mosquitoes, or via their faeces, as in the case of Chagas’ Disease spread by Triatoma bugs or epidemic typhus spread by human body lice.

Mosquitoes, therefore, are known perhaps as the most invertebrate vector and transmit a wide range of tropical diseases including malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever to name a few; Although, invertebrate-transmitted diseases pose a particular threat on the continents of Asia, South America and Africa, with specific on Nigeria due to its tropical environment.

DigitalSENSE News investigations can authoritatively reveal that Malaria affects 3.3 billion people, or half of the world’s population in106 countries and territories. Just as the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirms 216 million cases of malaria occurred in 2010, with African region raking 81 per cent of the occurrence.

Also, DigitalSENSE News investigations reveal that as at the time of going to press, over 101,276 signatures have been collected to support the petition to the Governor of Florida in United States and 15 others from the community -- Key West, Florida; against a biotechnology company, Oxitec for wanting to test its genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes in a ‘real life’ environment.

Leading the campaign, a mom of three boys, Mrs. Mila de Mier informed DigitalSENSE News that she is not a stranger to mosquito bites, but never thought she had to even think about how transformed mosquitoes bred in a science laboratory biting her kids in the vicinity.

According to her, Oxitec wants to test its genetically engineered mosquitoes in a “real life” environment and decided that the town where her children play would be a good testing ground. Mrs. De Mier alleged that though she has been involved in a community effort to keep mutant mosquitoes out of Key West, but Oxitec has gone over their heads to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) an equivalent of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria, to get permission to test their bugs on the community. 

“That’s why I started a petition on Change.org, demanding that the FDA say no to Oxitec’s request to test mutant mosquitoes in Key West,” she appealed.

She also stressed that the concerns here are that these mosquitoes were supposedly developed to combat Dengue Fever, a disease carried by mosquitoes. But it has been years since Dengue Fever had a case in Key West.

Oxitec, a British corporation, she noted, thinks its transformed mosquitoes would be a cheaper solution, arguing that “if the current system is working, why will anyone introduce genetically engineered mosquitoes into a community, especially when independent scientists have raised concerns over the effects the bugs could have on the local ecosystem and globally too.”

Further investigations by DigitalSENSE News showed most of the mosquitoes being bred are males, and some females, which means there is a risk of these bugs biting people.

The palpable fears now is that if eventually Oxitec has its way, there may be no going back, thereby increasing the chances of developing continents like Asia and Africa getting infected by invertebrates from mosquitoes, with Nigeria’s figure predicted to undoubtedly rise instead of decreasing with attendant challenges.

A concerned Nigerian on hearing this development told DigitalSENSE News, “We’re still trying to overcome the issues of HIV/AIDS, now they are coming with these GM mosquitoes. It’s terrible,” she declared.

Speaking to DigitalSENSE News exclusively, a research fellow on Environmental Biotechnology at the Biotechnology and Molecular Biology Advanced Laboratory, in Sheda Science and Technology Complex, Garki, Abuja, Mr. Andrew Iloh, cautioned Nigerians against having negative mindset over the study, because of the need to always examine two sides of a coin.

Andrew Iloh 

Scientifically speaking, he noted, it’s a major breakthrough for the UK-based scientists at Oxitec to have developed genetically modified Mosquitoes. He said that Aedes aegypti mosquito was mostly found in Africa until around the second world war. After which, it was transported by ships to all over the world. An aegypti could now be found in 110 countries and the incidence of dengue fever has also risen 30-fold in the past 50 years.

He elucidated that these scientists are now claiming that by using genetic modification, these mosquitoes are allowed to reproduce but in a very limited way. Asserting, their GM mosquitoes were developed to need an antibiotic, tetracycline, to further develop beyond larval stage.

“So, when these GM males mate with wild females, the gene that makes them need the antibiotic, tetracycline is passed on to the offspring thus making them need tetracycline to develop but if they cannot find it they die. Only males are introduced into the environment and in a few days, both they and their offspring are dead,” he explained.

Mr. Iloh, noted that within 10-day mosquito life, they have little contact with species other than mammals and their eradication leaves the ecosystem much as it was before they arrived. He described the scientific evolution of GM mosquitoes as a good step in modern biotechnology, mostly in the effort at combating dengue fever.

Nigeria, he said, cannot at this time in history be an Island, hence whatever affects other parts of the world may also affect Nigerian environment, since we are now in a global village. Iloh insisted that the discovery is capable of eradicating a deadly killer, dengue fever, adding that these set of mosquitoes are that they bite and suck during the day time, unlike the other malaria causing mosquitoes, the ‘Anopheles mosquitoes.’

Further, he pointed out that mosquitoes breed in water, no matter how small it is as long as it is stagnant, they will always breed. Advising Nigerians to ensure, first they have a clean and healthy environment, saying it will go a long way in reducing the breeding of these mosquitoes that cause malaria. Even as he advocated the use of bed nets, saying, it should be encouraged too.

“So, an addition of GM mosquitoes will only be value added to the other traditional methods of preventing the mosquito and the spread of malaria,” he said, emphasizing that Nigeria is embracing GM; from agricultural crops to the mosquitoes, with the recent passing into law, the Biosafety Bill by the National Assembly.

Equally speaking, Seth Casson said that though Oxitec claims that these mosquitoes will be harmless and or beneficial, sooner or later it will be discovered that something is horribly wrong with theses mosquitoes. “Genetic engineering is in its infancy. Common sense dictates that the release of an experimental organism - one that breeds uncontrollably and will undoubtedly transmit antigens to humans and other hosts into the natural environment is both moronic and irreversible.

Mairin Elmer says, it is wrong for biotech companies to use human beings as guinea pigs, insisting, “We really do not need to let loose GM mosquitoes into the environment. Whatever happened to the USA being a country “for the people, by the people”? We were never asked if we wanted GMOs released into our environment and polls show that 90 per cent or more of citizens don’t want them. It makes me incredibly sad and angry that the US has become a falsely “democratic” nation. There is very little democracy left if we have no voice.”

Commenting, Christine Newell described the intended release of GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) mosquitoes as too risky, adding that they (Oxitec and other biotech firms) have no clue how this will work out. She warned “Mosquitoes are at the bottom of the food chain for many creatures including many fish and bats ... do not put them at risk.”

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