Nearly 150,000 Gene-Hacked Mosquitoes to Be Unleashed in Florida
On 4/28/21 at 8:07 AM EDT
Containers of mosquito larvae seen in July 2020 in Key Largo, Florida. Nearly 150,000 genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Nearly 150,000 mosquitoes that have been genetically modified by Oxitec, a biotechnology company based in the U.K., will be released across parts of Monroe County s Florida Keys region starting this week.
The release is part of an experiment to help combat a disease-transmitting local mosquito population (the Aedes aegypti mosquito species) that is responsible for virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever, the company says.
click to enlarge PHOTO CREDIT WXXI NEWS
Some local schools are easing into in-person learning after a year of remote classes, and while the shift comes with some risks, health officials said simple precautions can help protect students and school staff.
The number of COVID-19 cases has been on an upward trend among younger residents in Monroe County for the past few weeks. County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza has attributed that increase to spring break activities, competitive ice hockey which has since been suspended and the presence of the U.K. variant, which is more transmissible though not more deadly.
Created: April 21, 2021 10:22 PM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) Supply is finally starting to meet demand when it comes to vaccines in Monroe County. The governor s office announced Wednesday that anyone 60 or older won t even need an appointment and can walk right into any state-run vaccine sites as of Friday.
Lifespan s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mary Rose McBride says as of April 15, their records show that 67% of our older adults in Monroe County have been fully vaccinated and that this news from the governor s office will only increase those numbers. Obviously we still want it to be more, but the governor s invitation for 60 and older can just walk into a pop-up site is great information,” McBride said.
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Genetically Modified Mosquitos to Be Released in Florida Keys
In an effort to fight insect-borne viruses like Zika, dengue fever and malaria, genetically modified mosquitoes are set to be released in the Florida Keys.
U.K.-based biotechnology company Oxitec has partnered with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District in an effort to control the invasive and disease-spreading female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the region.
Oxitec s male mosquitoes which don t bite, unlike the recently-discovered yellow fever-carrying Aedes scapularis mosquitoes will be introduced in small areas in a select number of neighborhoods between mile markers 10 and 93 in the Keys.