After roughly 10 years of debate and permitting, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Oxitec announced Friday that the release of genetically modified mosquitoes will begin as early as next week.
Project managers anticipate that, during the last week of April and first week of May, release boxes, non-release boxes and netted quality control boxes will be placed in six locations: two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key in Marathon, according to Oxitec spokeswoman Meredith Fensom.
Locations were selected based on confirmed presence of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, sufficient space to place a network of mosquito traps around the release sites and sufficient distance from sewage treatment plants, as specified by the Environmental Protection Agency permit, Nathan Rose, head of regulatory affairs for Oxitec, told The Key West Citizen on Friday.
Tensions rise as GM mosquito release nears keysnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from keysnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The United Kingdom-based biotech company Oxitec will soon announce the test locations and timetable for releasing its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
The test involves releasing lab-reared Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, a species of mosquito commonly found in the Keys that can carry dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya.
There could be small specific release sites that will be spread throughout the Keys, Oxitec spokeswoman Meredith Fensom said. Not one small defined area of neighborhood may be able to accommodate the test, she said.
The project, which is being done in partnership with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, will be split into two projects, A and B. Project A will be one small box in one neighborhood. That project will allow Oxitec to test efficacy of a potential mosquito control product that citizens could buy at hardware store and use in their own backyard, Fensom said.