Some of the local residents reportedly believe that the impending mosquito release is being forced upon them.
A biotech company called Oxitec, which received money from a foundation established by Bill Gates, is now moving to release a multitude of genetically-altered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, futurism.com reports.
The apparent goal of this enterprise is to try and reduce the population of the Aedes aegypti , a mosquito that can spread diseases like dengue fever and malaria, by introducing an altered version of this insect that doesn’t bite and can only hatch male offspring.
According to the media outlet, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged about $4.1 million to Oxitec back in 2018 to “develop a new mosquito that would target malaria in the Americas, South Asia, and eastern Africa,” with the foundation also previously providing some $19.7 “for a project in which Oxitec took part”.
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