Thousands of genetically modified gels released

According to the British BBC, the released species are the non-stinging, male representatives of the ‘friendly’ Anopheles stephensi gels, which were adapted by the biotechnology company Oxitec. They carry a gene that kills the female gels before they can grow.

This is an advantage because only the female representatives sting and transmit malaria and other viral diseases.

There are already more than a billion such mosquitoes on the move
It is the first time such mosquitoes have been released in East Africa and the second time on the continent. According to the US Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), similar technology has already been used successfully in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama and India. Since 2019, more than a billion such mosquitoes have been released worldwide.

The first batch of mosquitoes were 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.

Males who want to mate are believed to stop the disease
“We have developed good mosquitoes that do not bite and do not transmit diseases. And when we release these friendly mosquitoes, they look for wild female gels and mate with them,” Oxitec boss Gray Frandsen told the BBC.

The lab-grown insects carry a ‘self-limiting’ gene that prevents female offspring from reaching adulthood when they mate. Only their male offspring survive, but scientists behind the project say they would eventually become extinct.

Gelsen can still produce offspring
Unlike the sterile male Anopheles colluzzi released in Burkina Faso in 2018, the friendly Stephensi gels 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 wave of malaria threatens Africa
At the time, the country was on the brink of malaria eradication when it recorded nearly thirty cases of malaria. Since then, the number of malaria cases in the country has increased exponentially and is expected to reach 73,000 by 2030. The species is now found in six other African countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria and Ghana.

The Stephensi species, which originates from Asia, is very difficult to control. It is also known as the urban mosquito that outsmarts traditional control methods. It bites both day and 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 impact on ecosystems and existing food chains. Arguments that Oxitec does not want to accept: In the more than ten years that the company has been working with the modified mosquitoes, there have been no negative effects on the environment or human health, they emphasize.

However, Oxitec’s Mr Frandsen says that in the more than a decade that the biological solutions company has released a billion modified mosquitoes, no negative effects on the environment or human health have been noted.

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,” the Oxitec boss continued. The genetically modified genes are not found in the mosquitoes’ saliva, and according to Oxitec, even a human bitten by a mosquito will not be exposed to the genes’ effects.

“This new solution may be controversial, but it is the future,” said presidential health adviser Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi. If successful, larger field trials will be conducted next year and the mosquitoes will eventually be deployed across the country.