The first batch of genetically engineered non-biting mosquitoes will be released in Djibouti on Thursday in an attempt to stop the spread of an invasive species that threatens to swamp African cities and set back years of progress on tackling malaria.
The genetically modified Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, developed by Oxitec, a US biotechnology company using technology spun out of the UK’s Oxford university, are engineered so that their female progeny die. Only female mosquitoes bite.
Similar technology was used in 2022 to combat dengue-carrying mosquitoes in S?o Paulo, Brazil, where it suppressed 96 per cent of dengue mosquitoes, according to a peer-reviewed journal.
您已閱讀21%（678字），剩余79%（2557字）包含更多重要信息，訂閱以繼續探索完整內容，并享受更多專屬服務。