Oxitec Mosquitoes Have Been Released Before

"The Florida release of the mosquitoes would not be the first for Oxitec. The company has released the mosquitoes previously. In the fall of 2009 they did the open air release of the engineered mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands, and followed up with a larger study the next summer. The company was criticized for pursuing the studies under somewhat of a "hushed" process but Oxitec emphasized that the releases were done in conjunction with Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) of the Cayman Islands and claim that the lack of newsworthiness is the only reason few outside the Cayman Islands knew of it. The company reported an 80% reduction in the Aedes aegypti mosquito population in the 16-hectare test site where the mosquitoes were released.

The same mosquitoes were also released in Brazil in Feb 2011 and Malaysia in Jan 2011.

In contrast to the relatively little notoriety of the Cayman release, the proposed release in Florida Keys is generating quite a commotion. An online petition started in March has gathered over 100,000 signatures, and the growing concern of the residents was covered in the latest issue of Nature. For a more background on the Florida situation, take a look at the detailed article in the Miami New Times News."

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