In News
- Recently, scientists have genetically modified mosquitoes to slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in their guts which can also help prevent transmission of the disease to humans.
About MalariaÂ
- ParasitesÂ
- Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.Â
- The parasite develops into its next stage in the mosquito’s gut and travels to its salivary glands, ready to infect the next person it bites.
- Â Though only around 10 percent of mosquitoes live long enough for the infectious parasite to develop.
- Symptoms
- People who have malaria usually feel very sick with a high fever and shaking chills.
- Distribution
- While the disease is uncommon in temperate climates, malaria is still common in tropical and subtropical countries.
- Vaccine
- It is preventable and curable.
- Data on MalariaÂ
- Malaria remains one of the most devastating diseases globally, putting at risk about half of the world’s population.Â
- In 2021, it infected 241 million people and killed 627,000 people.Â
Genetic modification in MosquitoesÂ
- Lab-bred mosquitoes: GM mosquitoes are mass-produced in a laboratory to carry two types of genes:
- A self-limiting gene that prevents female mosquito offspring from surviving to adulthood.
- A fluorescent marker gene that glows under a special red light. This allows researchers to identify GM mosquitoes in the wild.
- New tools are increasingly needed as mosquitoes develop resistance to insecticides and treatments.
- Shorter life span: The peptides impair the malarial parasite’s development and also cause the mosquitoes to have a shorter life span.
- Gene drive technology: Gene drive is one such powerful weapon that in combination with drugs, vaccines and mosquito control can help stop the spread of malaria and save human lives. Â
Pros of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
- GM mosquitoes have been successfully used in parts of Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and India to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes.
- GM mosquitoes will only work to reduce numbers of target mosquito species and not other types of mosquitoes.
- There is no risk to people, animals, or the environment.
- Â Scientists say the introduction of GMO mosquitoes will lower the population of disease-carrying biting insects over time.
- Reviews suggest the loss of invasive mosquito species will have little to no effect on local environments since they didn’t belong there to begin with.
- No pesticides are added to the environment when using GMO mosquitoes.
- Seeding areas with GMO male mosquitoes is relatively easy and a low-manpower activity.
Cons of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
- GMO mosquitoes may carry or develop unknown pathogens that hurt humans.
- Critics say there has not been enough testing and observation of the GMO mosquitoes.
- Though the mosquito is an introduced species, native species are now reliant on these mosquitoes for their diet.
- GMO mosquitoes may mutate into a stronger mosquito that can reproduce, which poses a whole new threat.
- Fear that despite the gene modification, some of the hatched GMO mosquitoes will survive to adulthood and breed.
- The cost of producing GMO mosquitoes is too expensive and too time-consuming.
Way Forward/ Suggestions
- Planning: It would require extremely careful planning to minimise risks before any field trials.
- Two separate strains: there is a need of creating two separate but compatible strains of modified mosquitoes one with the anti-parasite modification and one with the gene drive.
- Integrated mosquito management:Â
- Educating the community about how they can control mosquitoes in and around their homes.
- Conducting mosquito surveillance (tracking and monitoring the number of mosquitoes, and types of mosquitoes in an area).
- Removing standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
- Using larvicides and insecticides to control mosquito larvae, pupae, and adult mosquitoes.
- Monitoring how effective mosquito programs are at reducing numbers of mosquitoes.Â
Source: IE
