Long Road Ahead For Genetically Modified Mosquito Trial In Florida
To help in the battle against Zika, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District wants Oxitec, a company that has developed genetically modified mosquitoes that would help cull the population, to test them in a neighborhood of 444 homes on a peninsula north of Key West, but it's not going to happen anytime soon. In other Zika news, NPR looks at problems with testing, such as long wait times for results, and health experts in Ohio lead the crusade against the virus.
The Associated Press:
Things To Know About GMO Mosquito Test Proposed In Florida
The spread of the Zika virus in Latin America is giving a boost to a British biotech firm's proposal to deploy a genetically modified mosquito to try to stop transmission of the disease. Oxitec has genetically modified the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also transmits dengue and chikungunya, so the males produce offspring that do not live. (Kay, 3/10)
NPR:
How Best To Test For Zika Virus?
Let's say you're a pregnant woman who recently traveled to Latin America or the Caribbean. You got a little sick shortly after the trip, with some combination of mild fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The big question now is: Did you have Zika virus? And, if so, is your fetus still healthy? "Probably every day, patients come in questioning whether or not they would qualify for testing," says Dr. Christine Curry, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Miami, and Jackson Memorial Hospital. (Bichell, 3/10)
The Columbus Dispatch:
Local Health Experts Mount Defense Against Zika
You can't tell a mosquito how to behave. But you can try to tell people. That's what local health experts are doing as they prepare for the area's first Zika case and whatever might follow. (Kurtzman, 3/10)
