Biotech Updates

GM Mosquitoes Fight Dengue in Brazil

April 20, 2012

Brazilian scientists believe that their experiment on genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes is working. In an experiment to reduce populations of dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito, more than 10 million male mosquitoes were released in the city of Juazeiro.

Samples collected showed that 85 percent of the eggs were transgenic, which meant that GM mosquitoes are overriding the wild population. "This will decrease Aedes mosquitoes and therefore decrease dengue transmission," said Aldo Malavasi, the project's coordinator.

Similar experiments on GM mosquitoes have been done in Malaysia and the Cayman Islands.

More details can be found here: http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/medical_countermeasures/318516-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-fight-dengue-in-brazil/.