Admissions by Oxitec, the UK company partnering with the Mosquito Research and Control Unit in Cayman, that the space created by any successful eradication of the Aedes aegypti mosquito through the use of its GM insects could pave the way for a second disease-carrying species has international NGOs concerned
EXCERPT: “It might be a good business model for a company to sell a technology to reduce one mosquito species, so then they can also sell a technology to deal with the species that replaces it,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “But it’s not worth the effort, expense and potential risk for communities in the US to start down this path.”
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NGOs query GM mosquito success risk
Cayman News
4 Oct 2016
https://caymannewsservice.com/2016/10/ngos-query-gm-mosquito-success-risk/
Admissions by Oxitec, the UK company partnering with the Mosquito Research and Control Unit here in Cayman, that the space created by the successful eradication of the Aedes aegypti through the use of its genetically modified insects could pave the way for a second disease-carrying species has some international NGOs very concerned. The watchdogs have said that the bio-engineered bugs create a risk that equally problematic mosquitoes will fill the vacuum created by Oxitec’s technology.
Referring to documents used during the recent case in the Cayman Islands Grand Court, when local activists challenged the decision to begin a test eradication project on a site in West Bay, the NGOs said that admissions by Oxitec show that the Aedes albopictus species, known as the Asian Tiger mosquito, which also transmits tropical diseases like dengue and Zika, could appear in the space left by the invasive Aedes aegypti if the genetically engineered insects are released in the United States.
“These court documents show that Oxitec’s GE mosquito trials are not worth the risk,” said the group, which includes GeneWatch, Friends Of The Earth, the International Centre for Technology Assessment and Food & Water Watch.
Oxitec states in the documents that if the Asian Tiger mosquito emerged to fill the space left by the Aedes aegypti, then a bio-engineered version of that species could address the issue. However, Food & Water Watch is pushing back and urging the authorities in Florida, who are set to engage in a project with Oxitec, not to release any genetically modified insects.
“It might be a good business model for a company to sell a technology to reduce one mosquito species, so then they can also sell a technology to deal with the species that replaces it,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “But it’s not worth the effort, expense and potential risk for communities in the US to start down this path.”
Aedes albopictus is a more invasive species than Aedes aegypti and can be found along the US east coast, from Maine to Florida, in all southern states, most midwestern states and in the states along the US-Mexico border, from Texas west to California.
“Current permits for releases should now be revoked until regulators recognise the downsides of Oxitec’s technology and the need to consider all the impacts on the ecosystem,” said Dr Helen Wallace, director of GeneWatch UK. “The consequences of mass releases of GE mosquitoes could be harmful if other disease-carrying mosquito species move in as a result. Risk assessments in Brazil, the Cayman Islands and the USA need to be revised.”
The NGOs have also accused Oxitec of hiding information about the GE mosquitoes’ potential to survive. Data has shown that 15-18% of its GE mosquitoes survive when fed on cat food containing industrially farmed chicken, which contains the antibiotic tetracycline. Environmental groups have warned that this could lead to the survival and spread of large numbers of GE mosquitoes when they encounter this common antibiotic in the environment in discarded takeaways or septic tanks.
“Oxitec has misled the public about the risks. These GE mosquitoes may thrive in the wild or may lead to an increase in more aggressive mosquito populations,” said Dana Perls, senior food and technology campaigner with Friends of the Earth, US. “We should be using the least toxic alternatives that don’t have unintended consequences for our environment and health.”
Florida Keys residents will have a non-binding vote on whether they support the release of Oxitec’s genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in November. Another vote will occur in Key Haven, Florida, where Oxitec has received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to release its GE Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the first US trial. Residents of Key Haven have strongly opposed the release of these mosquitoes.
CNS contacted Oxitec Cayman and the MRCU about the latest concerns but we have not received a response.