Their goal is to stop the transmission of dengue fever, which according to the World Health Organization, has spread rapidly in recent decades, putting nearly half of the world’s population at risk for infection. “By applying the Oxitec Control Programme to an area, the mosquito population in that area can be dramatically reduced or eliminated.” “After an Oxitec mosquito has successfully mated with a wild female, any offspring that result will not survive to adulthood, so the mosquito population declines,” according to the company’s website. Oxitec scientists have engineered flightless female and sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that either cannot reproduce or whose offspring die before reaching maturity. biotechnology firm Oxitec could eliminate a virus that causes 2.3 million infections and 25,000 deaths per year worldwide, but at the expense of driving an entire species to extinction. Oxitec has created a breed of mosquito whose offspring don’t survive to adulthood in an effort to eradicate mosquito-borne illness.Ī controversial plan by U.K.
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