Cases of Dengue Drop 91 Percent Due to Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

[HuckleB]

https://entomologytoday.org/2016/07/14/cases-of-dengue-drop-91-due-to-genetically-modified-mosquitoes/

"Once again, a technique that modifies insects in order to control their populations has been proven effective. RIDL, which stands for Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal, has been applied to diamondback moths, Mediterranean fruit flies, and olive flies, and it has been used in field trials on mosquitoes in order to reduce cases of dengue.

Scientists apply the RIDL technique to male insects in the lab, which basically makes them die young unless they receive a substance called tetracycline. As long as they have tetracycline, they will live, but take it away from them and they’re goners. It’s almost as if they’re breeding insects that are drug addicts from birth.

Next, they release millions of these male insects into the wild and allow them to mate with females. Since they no longer have tetracycline, the males die soon after mating. Their offspring, which also need tetracycline to live, will die before reaching adulthood since they have no access to the substance.

Using this technique, scientists have reduced the cases of dengue, which can be deadly, by 91% in a neighborhood called CECAP/Eldorado in the city Piracicaba, which is located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. There were only 12 cases of dengue in the area, versus 133 cases the previous year. Surrounding areas also saw a reduction of dengue cases by 52%.

..."

-----------------------------------------


How would the rest of DU take this news?

Hmm.

[skepticscott]

1. They'd try to manufacture vague bullshit fears

about Frankensquitos being released into the wild, and OMG we can't know what effect it will have on the environment, blah, blah, blah..

Ignoring completely the fact that we DO know the effect of dengue-carrying mosquitos..tens of millions of infections and tens of thousands of deaths every year.

[HuckleB]

2. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, it is posted in the science group.

And no responses, but 11 likes, so far.

[Warpy]

3. I'm waiting to hear about the effectiveness of the vaccine

now being given a large scale (as much of the population on IMSS as they can catch) trial in Mexico. The vaccine was effective against all 4 dengue strains in earlier trials.

That's interesting about the fatally flawed mosquito breeding. They had limited success releasing clouds of sterilized male mosquitoes some decades ago. Since this genetic flaw will be passed down the generations, it might be a better solution to controlling them.

Then again, we might discover some really vital part the damned things play in the ecosystem besides feeding small fish.

[progressoid]

4. Yeah, I wondered about that too.

But I remember reading a story that the mosquito populations are growing or expected to grow due to global warming.

On a related note. Some have already evolved to go dormant later in the year as the summers are extended. Apparently that's noteworthy since mosquitoes use day length, not temperature, as a cue to go dormant. http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/microexamples_01