Experimenting with Genetically Modified Mosquitoes is a Dangerous Gamble!

The capacity of gene drives to spread and persist in the environment presents novel biosafety and socio-economic concerns for both people and biodiversity

Last week the Ugandan media was awash with reports that a British firm, Oxitec, in partnership with Uganda Virus Research Institute is set to develop a technique for inserting a lethal gene into mosquitoes to combat malaria.

While Uganda has one of the highest global burden of malaria cases; claiming many lives each year; there is no evidence or proof that genetically modified mosquitoes would contribute to tackling the current challenges in the fight against malaria.

The Uganda Virus Research Institute is pressing forward with “gene drive” technology which provides a way to rapidly, permanently, and genetically modify wild animals or plants.

Gene drive organisms, are a genetically modified organism (GMO) designed to spread a genetic modification through entire populations of wild or farmed species, and are promoted as a ‘solution’ to pressing problems in the fields of public health, ecology and agriculture.