Moscamed launches urban scale project using Oxitec GM mosquitoes

[Olesya]

Today I stumbled upon a reportage on MHZ TV network showing a release of GM mosquitos in some poor village in Brasil. It was shocking and sad to see the whole village cheering, people standing in lines, opening jars with mosquitos inside. It was called a cause for celebration! I couldn't find the original material on the Internet, so I looked and that's what I found.

From here _http://www.oxitec.com/press-release-moscamed-launches-urban-scale-project-using-oxitec-gm-mosquitoes-in-battle-against-dengue

PRESS RELEASE: Moscamed launches urban scale project using Oxitec GM mosquitoes in battle against dengue

Oxitec, Oxford, UK 20th June 2013

Today Moscamed made the first releases of Oxitec GM mosquitoes to mark the launch of a new programme to control the dengue mosquito Aedes aegypti in the town of Jacobina in the State of Bahia.

In previous trials Moscamed have demonstrated that, using the Oxitec mosquitoes, it is possible to rapidly reduce the number of dengue mosquitoes in a town. In the most recent demonstration in Mandacaru the level of these mosquitoes were reduced by 96% within 6 months and it was shown that this reduction could be maintained for many months including through the time of the year when normally mosquito levels would be at their peak.

The launch of the new programme came at the initiative of Jorge Solla, Secretary of Health for the state of Bahia, who is determined to reduce the threat of dengue fever in the region. In the first three months of 2013, there were 72 registered cases in this city of 48,000 people. There was previously an outbreak with over 1,700 cases and 2 deaths in 2012.

The Mayor of Jacobina, Rui Macedo said “It is a historic fact to be able to deploy this project to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito in our city. This research that aims to reduce the dengue mosquito population is extremely important for the public health of Jacobina. We are really excited with the results that we might achieve through this research”.

Moscamed Director Dr Aldo Malavasi said, “The Jacobina programme represents the next step for us in the fight against mosquitoes that spread dengue. We have had wonderful support from the local community, local and state health and vector control officials and national authorities and experts and we are now ready to show that this approach can be used at significant scale to help protect people from these disease carrying mosquitoes. Over the past months we have hired 7 people locally to support the programme and anticipate another 30 new jobs.”

The programme of using the Oxitec mosquitoes starts today. Releases of Oxitec mosquitoes will commence in the north west of the town and over the coming months it is planned to progressively control the dengue mosquito throughout the town. Releases will be made two to three times a week.

Supporting Moscamed, Dr Andy McKemey from Oxitec noted “The Jacobina programme marks a significant step up in demonstrating the efficacy and practicality of the Oxitec approach. Jacobina is some three hours from the main factory so careful planning of logistics for supply, release and monitoring is very important. But at this scale we will also gain a great deal of experience and information in terms of tailoring the control programme to different parts of the town in order to make it as cost efficient as possible. We hope that over time this will provide a lasting solution to the burden of dengue in Jacobina, which has suffered from a high case load in recent years.”

About Oxitec Ltd.

Oxitec is a pioneer in controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops. Its products build upon the use of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), an effective, species-specific and environmentally friendly method of controlling harmful and damaging insects. Oxitec’s first products are for the control of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species primarily responsible for transmitting dengue fever, and Mediterranean fruit fly, one of the world’s most damaging agricultural pests.

Apparently, it was done before. From Nature http://www.nature.com/news/brazil-tests-gm-mosquitoes-to-fight-dengue-1.10426

Brazil tests GM mosquitoes to fight Dengue

Males with offspring-killing genes are replacing wild insects, say researchers.

Scientists in Brazil say an experiment to reduce populations of the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito, by releasing millions of genetically modified (GM) insects into the wild, is working.

More than ten million modified male mosquitoes were released in the city of Juazeiro, a city of 288,000 people, over a period of time starting a year ago.

"From samples collected in the field, 85 per cent of the eggs were transgenic, which means that the males released are overriding the wild population. This [should result] in the decrease of Aedes mosquitoes, and in the decrease of dengue transmission," he told SciDev.Net.

They have already been tested in Malaysia and the Cayman Islands, but this is believed to be the largest experiment in the wild to date.

"They were worried when they saw so many mosquitoes [being released], but we worked closely with them to explain the experiment," she told SciDev.Net.

Environmental advocates, including GeneWatch UK, have expressed concern over the potential of GM mosquitoes to survive and breed in the wild with unpredictable results.

Malavasi said he was confident the modified mosquitoes would be unable to produce viable offspring.

Malavasi said it would take time for lower Aedes populations to be reflected in lower dengue transmission rates, and said the researchers have yet to survey local communities to assess dengue incidence.

I wonder what the effects on the ecosystem will be? Are these already showing?

And here _http://www.keysnet.com/2013/05/25/487157/oxitec-claims-success-with-genetically.html is the info about the possible implementation of the same in the US (the article dated May 25, 2013)

As the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District awaits U.S. approval, Director Michael Doyle on Monday reported positive results from British company Oxitec's latest genetically modified mosquito effort in Brazil.

Doyle told the Mosquito Control Board that Oxitec on May 15 reported a 96 percent suppression of dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the village of Mandacaru, near the city of Juazeiro in Brazil. "It's more good news and it's another indication that the technology is working in a wide variety of places. That's always a concern with any new technology," he said.

Oxitec breeds genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the dengue-fever carrier that caused a 2009 outbreak of the disease in Old Town Key West. There have been no reported cases since.

Monroe County health officials confirmed 93 cases in 2009. Dengue causes bone pain and related maladies, but isn't typically fatal.

[...]

Oxitec produced similar results in Grand Cayman, an island with a comparable climate to Key West, in 2011. "The fact that it's worked in the Cayman Islands, which are very similar to the Keys, it's just encouraging and makes us that more interested," Doyle said.

There hasn't been much in the way of new information since Doyle took part in an expert U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel in February to discuss a similar project in Key West. The FDA has agreed to oversee potential permitting of a Key West trial.

The district wants to take a proactive approach to suppressing the Aedes population, but the project is controversial and many locals oppose it.

However, the district performed a wide-ranging survey recently that indicates large-scale local support. North Carolina State University Professor Michael Cobb did the study.

Cobb is a political science professor, but also "studies public perceptions about emerging technologies," according to his N.C. State faculty page. Part of that is "transgenic techniques for managing pests like mosquitoes."

Asked their "opinions about using [genetic engineering] technology to control mosquitoes in Key West," 61 percent of 610 people from Key West to Key Largo strongly support (24 percent) or support (37 percent) the idea. Twenty-1 percent were neutral; 10 percent opposed and 8 percent strongly opposed.

Asked how safe they feel releasing genetically modified mosquitoes is, 80 percent said it's either very safe (18 percent) or safe (62 percent). Twenty percent said they feel it would be unsafe (12 percent) or very unsafe (8 percent).

Doyle said that for a Key West release, a "timeline and ultimate decision are not known."