What is the issue?

• A Brazil-based company found a technology to modify the mosquito genome to destroy the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
• This gene creates an offspring that dies before reproducing.

What is sowing a fear?

• Through this experiment, the population of the targeted mosquito species is drastically reduced in a few generations.
• Yale University study - To find the effects of the use of genetically-engineered mosquitoes to kill the dengue-, Zika- and chikungunya-causing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
• The scientists suggest that,
  1. The field trials went wrong.
  2. This would very likely result in a more robust population of mosquitoes than the pre-release population due to hybrid vigour.
  3. It is unclear how this may affect the efforts to control these dangerous vectors.
• That is enough to sow fear and uncertainty in the minds of thoughtful people and create scary headlines around the world.
• Unfortunately, the paper offered no data at all to support the “very likely" assessment.
• The journal subsequently said that the editors have received criticisms and will offer a response once they have been resolved.
• Most of the time, anything genetically-modified does not get good press. Good scientists know this and are careful in their communications.

What is at stake?

• At stake are the prospects of a promising way to control the population of mosquitoes and the growing risk they pose to human health and welfare.
• Concern - While this way to control mosquitoes appears to be effective and selective, unintended long-term consequences is a concern.
• The methods we use to kill mosquitoes may come back and haunt us.
• It’s possible that the absence of the bloodsucking Aedes mosquito might be more detrimental to other life on earth than its presence.

Why should we take the risk?

• A 2016 estimate - The economic burden of dengue in India, the direct and indirect costs of that disease alone is around $1.1 billion per year.
• This is an underestimate because it ignores broader opportunity costs.
• The burden imposed by malaria, a disease spread by the Anopheles mosquito, is so large that it is macro-economically significant.
• In India, there were over 9 million reported cases that caused around 16,000 deaths in 2017.
• Almost everyone in India (94% of the population), remains at risk.
• In the future - Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns may exacerbate malaria risks in the northern and north-eastern states.
• That is the states with weaker public health systems are at risk of a higher disease burden.

What should India do?

• There’s no ethical reason to grant the mosquito a reprieve merely on it belonging to a different species.
• Indeed, there is a moral case for us to use every possible means to control harmful mosquito species.
• If genetic technology presents us with an opportunity, India must remain open to it.
• It is important for projects like the ongoing caged trials in Maharashtra, to progress to the next level.
• India has an interest in the continuation of trials and release of genetically-engineered mosquitoes around the world.
• Given the direct human costs of the mosquito-borne diseases, we must not be shy of carefully taking calculated risks in trying out new solutions.

• Despite the recent controversy over the results in Brazil, no one is contesting the fact that the trial was successful in reducing the Aedes mosquito population.
• No negative impact was observed even after a couple of years.
• Even as they stay sensitive to the risks of unintended consequences, our policymakers must not lose sight of the promise of that finding.