Mutant Mosquito Swarm Could Be Unleashed On Key West
Mutant mosquito swarms could soon be invading Key West if a plan by a British company to use the mutants to ward off the native mosquito population goes through.
The company, Oxitec, plans to release between 5,000 and 10,000 of the genetically altered mosquitoes, which are designed to produce offspring that die quickly and would suppress cases of Dengue fever in the area.
Dengue is a disease that produces flu-like symptoms and can be fatal. There was an outbreak of the fever in Old Town Key West in 2009, though no new cases have been reported since 2010.
Key West residents aren’t too happy about the mutant mosquito swarms that could be invading their community, The Christian Post reported. More than 103,000 people have signed a petition started by a Key West resident calling on Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Chairman of the Florida Keys Mosquito Board of Commission (yes, that’s a real thing) to stop the plan. The residents are afraid that mutant mosquito swarms could mutate and throw off the fragile ecosystem there or even harm humans.
“The Florida Keys is a beautiful place, and it’s my home,” Mila de Mier, the resident who started the petition, told Orlando’s WKMG-TV Local 6. “We won’t be lab rats just so this company can make money. Oxitec says we have to do this to control mosquitoes, but it’s just not true. Other methods of mosquito control are working. We don’t need to gamble with mutant mosquitoes.”
The petition, which asks the FDA to reject the “animal bug” patent Oxitec has applied for, has gone viral in recent days. Many of the signatures against the mutant mosquito are coming from outside of Key West, and it has gotten attention from across the nation.
“The whole country, not just our local community, is sending a very strong message: It’s not OK to use people as an experiment,” de Mier told the Florida Keys Keynoter.
Oxitec has said that the mutant mosquito is safe and that insects released would be males, which do not bite and therefore can’t spread disease.
Tags : dengue fever, dengue fever mosquitoes, genetically altered mosquito, key west, key west mosquitoes, mutant mosquito, mutant mosquito key west, mutant mosquito petition
Posted: July 16, 2012
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Jul 16, 2012
Suggest the company test their mutant mosquito on London instead of Key West.
Jul 16, 2012
they should get some mutant humans to to replace congress, Senate and the Presidency!
Jul 16, 2012
The stupidity of unknowing Americans at its finest. Don't tell a doctor what disease/infection/issue you have just like you should not tell a mosquito expert what will happen with the "mutant mosquito's". Let the professionals handle the issue, after all, they would not have gotten where they are without doing research, going to school and getting a job in the field, all of which these complainers in Key West have likely not done.
Jul 16, 2012
Well us Stupid Americans have something called a Constitution and in that Constitution there is a right to protest. This right allows them to complain about a UK genetically tested mosquito from being unleashed on their community. If you read the article the mosquitoes are being released to keep the population down. Now mosquitoes while a nuisance is part of a fragile ecosystem. Killing off or weakening a part of that ecosystem in order to control population and play on peoples fears of a "outbreak of [Dengue fever] in Old Town Key West in 2009" is unconstitutional and scientifically irresponsible. There is nothing wrong with questioning "professionals". I believe BP had "professionals". There might even have been some "professionals" at Chernobyl. It's our job as citizens to question our decision makers about our families and our community.
Jul 16, 2012
Next to bee’s Mosquito’s are the best pollinators we have. With the massive die off of the honey bee: Is it really a good idea to try to kill off the Mosquito? Are we willing to do away with Fruit vegetable and grains? Moby oxitec will make some money!
Jul 16, 2012
"Unconstitutional are you kidding?" You mean like shooting wolves which are intimately involved in environmental control (you mad about that? No) You prefer pesticide and cancer from chemical sprays which they use now?? Maybe this could have environmental effects but how do you know that? What about the environmental effects of flushing pharmaceuticals out of people ass and down the toilet? You care about that? No .. you dont. Its a UK company is it? American companys of course dont ever damage the environment. HA.
Jul 16, 2012
Isn't this how most those syfy monster movies start? scientists making mutant bugs, alligators, creatures and releasing them?
Jul 16, 2012
Does anyone else remember what happened when they released mutated bees? WE GOT KILLER BEES! QUIT SCREWING WITH MOTHER NATURE!
Jul 16, 2012
Killer bees are actually a non-mutated species from Africa. They were brought to Brazil for study, and then they escaped and bred with the local bee population. They then started their spread north and are now prevalent throughout South America and the North American southwest. The only thing that science did was bring them to Brazil. Had they left them in Africa we'd probably be fine.
Jul 16, 2012
This mosquito thing is still stupid though.
Jul 16, 2012
They were studying them and were planning on breading with honey bees to increase the honey bee population because the massive kill off of honey bees can lead to lack of fruit and vegetable pollenization.
Jul 16, 2012
The mosquitoes are males and don't bite. They are designed so that their offspring dies fast. If it's been tested and proven effective, let them do it. I'd be happy to see a dip in the mosquito population without chemicals being released into the air.
Jul 16, 2012
I wouldn't mind less mosquitoes. If you haven't noticed there are a ton of bug species who have no problem breeding so sure less mosquitoes but who's to say their aren't plenty as it is and a dip would be more of a drop in the bucket…bugs don't do much all day besides suck eat and have sex.
Jul 17, 2012
Haven't these people read Jurasic Park? Chaos will take over and life will find a way. They will breed, adapt, and change an ecosystem for forever. Let nature take its course. I like science, but I really like and respect nature. Let it be.
Jul 17, 2012
We mentioned this in my Environmental Health class here at Tulane… Not quite sure how I feel about it. :/ Dengue is a big deal, but mutant mosquitos should kind of be a last ditch effort.
Jul 17, 2012
Mutant mosquitoes = resurrecting dinosaurs. I like it. lol
Jul 17, 2012
I agree that it should be a last ditch effort. It also seems like they have the Dengue under control as no cases have been reported since 2010.
Jul 17, 2012
So, you are a Darwinist, not in the faux-Darwin that the fundamentalists constructed, but the real Darwinism that says species ADAPT (as opposed to the erroneous "survival of the fittest" that became Social Darwinism)? Hmmm, you must have been influenced by some intelligent being who knows something about this stuff… and are listening to said intelligent being …
Jul 17, 2012
This does sound like the premise for a low budget Scify original movie. I am pretty sure we are all going to die as a result of this.
Jul 17, 2012
Sometimes, the cure is worse than the disease. VERY, VERY BAD IDEA. We never learn, do we?
Jul 17, 2012
right, trust the experts. Nobody, not even an expert, can tell all ramifications of what could happen here. You remember what CFCs did to the ozone, or what DDT to bird egg shells? Engineering life is a very bad ideal. You keep on trusting the experts until doomsday, which may be far off.
Jul 17, 2012
Sure, why not?
Go on…do it.
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
On a completely unrelated note, I have personally NEVER watched a single 1950s monster scifi flick (not even on MST3K), or even one made-for-tv disaster movie on the SyFy channel.