U.S. FDA finds "no significant impact" on environment from Zika-fighting mosquitoes

Genetically engineered mosquitoes, made by British biotech company Oxitec and currently being used in the fight against the Zika virus, will not result in a significant impact on the environment, according to a preliminary finding released Friday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The move means that the FDA could approve a proposal by Oxitec to conduct a field trial assessing the efficacy of the company's genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, called OX513A, in Key Haven, Florida.

"The consequences of escape, survival, and establishment of OX513A in the environment have been extensively studied: data and information from those studies indicate that there are unlikely to be any adverse effects on non-target species, including humans. Risk of establishment or spread has been determined to be negligible," the FDA wrote in its report.

However, a final approval will not be made until the FDA has had the opportunity to review public comments on Oxitec's proposal, which is expected to take months.

"The Aedes aegypti mosquito represents a significant threat to human health, and in many countries has been spreading Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses," Oxitec's Chief Executive Officer Hadyn Parry said in a statement responding to the FDA preliminary finding.

"We look forward to this proposed trial and the potential to protect people from Aedes aegypti and the diseases it spreads."

Oxitec's method involved using modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitos, which do not bite or spread disease. Once these mosquitos are released to mate with wild females, over 95 percent of their offspring die before reaching adulthood, therefore reducing the population of Aedes aegypti.

Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have tested this approach, and in these trials the population of Aedes aegypti was reduced by more than 90 percent, the company said.

The FDA's preliminary go-ahead for the Florida field trial was welcomed by biotechnology experts.

"I'm glad to see that cooler heads have prevailed, and that this trial looks like it will be allowed to go forward," said Zachary Adelman, a molecular geneticist at the Virginia Tech. "By allowing the trial, the FDA will be signaling that science and evidence-based practices should prevail over the hysteria and irrationality long associated with genetically-modified organisms." Endit