Local authorities on Tuesday gave final approval to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a two-year period, starting in 2021, with the hope of preventing diseases such as the Zika virus but has faced blowback and comparisons to a Steven Spielberg thriller. The Monroe County Mosquito Control District signed off on the proposal that had already won state and federal approval. It will be the first time genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the U.S. The project had received approval from the EPA back in May to release the mosquitos engineered by British company Oxitec. The genetically modified male mosquito, named OX5034, was altered with a special gene that inhibits the survival of their female offspring when they mate with wild female mosquitoes.

Source: Fox News August 20, 2020 06:33 UTC