Brazil and Malaysia cancel GM mosquito trials citing risks and ineffectiveness

‘Field trials in Bentong, a town in the state of Pahang, Malaysia, were conducted to determine if GM mosquitoes could help keep dengue at bay, with a final determination that such an attempt does not yield any benefits. In fact, the risks were found to be so great that the plan was halted altogether; health officials expressed strong disinterest in pursuing the GM mosquito project after they found that these trials would ultimately be ineffective.(1)

Releasing male GM Aedes aegypti mosquitoes into the wild with the hopes that they would mate and produce offspring that would die before adulthood — and therefore prevent the spread of dengue — were found to carry risks on health, financial and environmental levels.’

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