"Good development"

Thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes released into the wild

The release of the insects has been the subject of immense criticism in some quarters, but the company involved has brushed this off.

(Bild: AFP/Miguel SCHINCARIOL)

On Thursday, tens of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes were released into the wild in Djibouti. However, this is no accident: The insects are intended to help stop the spread of an invasive species. This threatens to flood African cities and thus undo years of progress in the fight against malaria.

According to the British BBC, the released species are the non-biting, male representatives of the "friendly" Anopheles stephensi gels, which have been modified by the biotechnology company Oxitec. They carry a gene that kills the female gnats before they can grow.

This is an advantage, as only the females bite and transmit malaria and other viral diseases.

More than a billion such mosquitoes already on the move
This is the first time that such mosquitoes have been released in East Africa and the second time on the continent. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), similar technology has already been successfully used in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama and India. More than one billion such mosquitoes have already been released worldwide since 2019.

(Bild: AFP/2021 Getty Images/JOE RAEDLE)

(Bild: AFP/Miguel SCHINCARIOL)

The first batch of mosquitoes was released into the wild on Thursday in Ambouli, a suburb of Djibouti City. This is a pilot phase as part of a partnership between Oxitec, the government of Djibouti and the NGO Association Mutualis.

Mating males to stop diseases
"We have developed good mosquitoes that don't bite and don't transmit diseases. And when we release these friendly mosquitoes, they look for wild female mosquitoes and mate with them," Oxitec boss Grey Frandsen told the BBC.

The lab-bred insects carry a "self-limiting" gene that prevents female offspring from mating and surviving to adulthood. Only their male offspring survive, but would eventually die out, according to the scientists behind the project.

Dangerous infection

Malaria is a deadly disease that kills at least 600,000 people worldwide every year. According to the World Health Organization, nine out of ten deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

Gelses can still produce offspring
In contrast to the sterile male Anopheles colluzzi released in Burkina Faso in 2018, the friendly Stephensi gelses can still produce offspring. The release is part of the Djibouti Friendly Mosquito Program, which was launched two years ago to stop the spread of Anopheles stephensi, an invasive mosquito species first discovered in the country in 2012.

New malaria wave threatens Africa
At the time, the country was on the brink of malaria eradication when it recorded almost 30 cases of malaria. Since then, the number of malaria cases in the country has risen exponentially, reaching 73,000 by 2020. The species is now found in six other African countries - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria and Ghana.

Originally from Asia, the Stephensi species is very difficult to control. It is also known as the urban mosquito, which has outwitted traditional control methods. It bites both during the day and at night and is resistant to chemical insecticides.

Environmental groups warn
Genetically modified organisms have always been a controversial topic in Africa. Environmental groups and activists have warned of the consequences for ecosystems and existing food chains. Arguments that Oxitec is not prepared to accept: In the more than ten years that the company has been working with the modified mosquitoes, no negative effects on the environment or human health have yet been shown, they stress.

However, Mr. Frandsen of Oxitec explains that in the more than ten years that the company, which develops biological solutions, has released one billion modified mosquitoes, no negative effects on the environment or human health have been detected.

Solution "controversial, but the future"
"Our main focus is to ensure that everything we release into the environment is safe and highly effective. There is no impact on the environment. They are non-toxic, non-allergenic and species-specific," continues the Oxitec boss. The genetically modified genes are not found in the saliva of mosquitoes and, according to Oxitec, even a person bitten by a mosquito will not be exposed to the effects of the genes.

"This new solution may be controversial, but it is the future," said the president's health adviser, Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi. If successful, larger field trials will be carried out by next year and the mosquitoes will eventually be used throughout the country.