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☆ Fact Check-U.S. malaria outbreak in 2023 not caused by GM mosquitos
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The release of genetically modified mosquitos in Florida and Texas could not have caused recent cases of malaria detected in the U.S., as suggested in social media posts. The OX5034 mosquitos developed by Oxitec were approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2020 for pilot testing (here). Markowski noted that only female mosquitos “blood feed,” which needs to happen to transmit diseases like malaria, and the only genetically modified mosquitos being released are males, which feed only on plant juices and therefore cannot transmit malaria (explained further here). Reuters has previously addressed misinformation about uses of genetically modified mosquitos (here), (here) and (here). Recent cases of malaria in the U.S. could not have been caused by the release of genetically modified mosquitos.

Persons: they’re, mosquitos, Daniel Markowski, Markowski, Read Organizations: Oxitec, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, Reuters, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, American Mosquito Control Association Locations: Florida, Texas, U.S, BioNTech, Florida and Texas, Saharan Africa, South Asia

☆ Fact Check-U.S. malaria outbreak in 2023 not caused by GM mosquitoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

(This story was corrected on July 27, 2023, to clarify that genetically modified mosquitoes were not released in Texas. The modified mosquitoes, which were released only in Florida, were all male, and only female mosquitoes feed on blood, which is how they transmit the malaria parasite from person to person, a mosquito-control expert said. Moreover, Markowski noted, only female mosquitoes “blood feed,” which needs to happen to transmit diseases like malaria, and the only genetically modified mosquitoes released are males, which feed only on plant juices and therefore cannot transmit malaria (explained further here). Reuters has previously addressed misinformation about uses of genetically modified mosquitoes (here), (here) and (here). Recent cases of malaria in the U.S. could not have been caused by the release of genetically modified mosquitoes.

Persons: they’re, Aedes aegypti, Daniel Markowski, Markowski, Oxitec, Joshua Van Raalte, “ Oxitec, Read Organizations: Oxitec, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Reuters, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, American Mosquito Control Association Locations: Texas, Florida, Harris County , Texas, U.S, BioNTech, Florida and Texas, Saharan Africa, South Asia

☆ The mosquito era: As the world warms, these insects are thriving – and bringing disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

James Gathany/CDC/Handout/ReutersWhile serious mosquito-borne diseases remain rare in the US, other countries are not so lucky. While scientists are yet to assess the role climate change has played in the outbreak, Carlson said the links seem clear. But the shift of mosquito-borne diseases into regions like the US and Europe is still likely to be a shock. Scientists are working to develop tools to be able to better assess the link between mosquito-borne diseases and climate change. The path the world takes on reducing planet-heating pollution will lead to very different futures for mosquito-borne diseases, Brady said.

Persons: it’s, Edgar Su, ”, Oliver Brady, –, James Gathany, Colin Carlson, Carlson, I’m, Ernesto Benavides, Celine Gossner, ” Brady, “, Shannon LaDeau, they’ve, ” LaDeau, Jon Cherry, Gossner, Brady Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, London School of Hygiene, Medicine, Climate Central, Georgetown University, Getty, European Centre for Disease Prevention, Carey Institute of Ecosystems Studies, Louisville Metro Department of Health, Wellness Locations: United States, Singapore, zika, West, Saharan Africa, Peru, Piura, AFP, Europe, “, Western Europe, China, Texas , Florida, Hawaii, Arizona, India, Louisville , Kentucky, Florida

☆ The US documented 3 locally transmitted malaria cases for the first time in 20 years. It's not a reason to panic, but sheds a light on the concerns of climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Three cases of malaria spread locally have been identified in Texas and Florida. But in Texas, the Department of State Health Services confirmed Friday that a person working outdoors in Cameron County, Texas, contracted malaria locally. According to the DSHS, although Texas sees about 120 malaria cases a year from international travelers, the last locally acquired case in Texas was detected in 1994. About 1,400 miles away in Sarasota County, Florida, however, two more cases of locally transmitted malaria infections have been identified this year — one in May and one in June. "And I think we should be funding more public health responses."

Persons: —, Vox, Photini Sinnis, Johns, Sinnis, it's, mosquitos Organizations: Service, Department of State Health Services, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, WHO Locations: Texas, Florida, Southern, Cameron County , Texas, Sarasota County , Florida, States, United States, mosquitos

There were 71 cases of the disease - which generally causes fever and muscle pain but can be more severe and even sometimes fatal - last year, mainly in France. The health agency warned at a press conference on Thursday there is an increasing risk of a number of mosquito-borne diseases in the European region, including dengue, zika, chikungunya and West Nile virus, linked to the changing climate and the spread of mosquitoes carrying the viruses. “If this continues, we can expect to see more cases and possibly deaths from diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and West Nile fever," said Andrea Ammon, ECDC director. Aedes aegypti, which spreads diseases including dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya, became established in Cyprus last year and could make further inroads, it said. While the rates of some mosquito-borne diseases in Europe have not risen dramatically in recent years or even fallen slightly, such as malaria and zika, others have seen a "striking" rise, particularly dengue, the ECDC said.

Persons: Andrea Ammon, Aedes, Jennifer Rigby, Jane Merriman Organizations: European Centre for Disease Prevention, World Health Organization, El, Thomson Locations: Europe, France, chikungunya, West, Cyprus, Peru, El Nino

[1/6] An Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen under a magnifying glass at the CNEA (National Atomic Energy Commission), in Ezeiza, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina April 12, 2023. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYBUENOS AIRES, April 17 (Reuters) - Argentine, fighting one of its worst outbreaks of dengue in recent years, is sterilizing mosquitoes using radiation that alters their DNA before releasing them into the wild. Their population keeps on moving further south," said National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) biologist Marianela Garcia Alba. They expect to release the first batch of sterilized males in November. Similar techniques to sterilize pests using the same radiation found in X-rays have been utilised for decades, helping global efforts to control diseases such as chikungunya, dengue and Zika.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito ‘released by Bill Gates’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video circulating online shows a small sap-sucking insect called an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito with a number stamped on it released by philanthropist Bill Gates, as online posts claim. Bill Gates was very vocal about releasing millions of GMO [genetically modified organism] mosquitos into the public.”Another example can be seen (here). However, the video shows a small insect called an aphid, not a GMO mosquito. A representative for the Gates Foundation said the claim that the video showed a genetically modified mosquito with a number or barcode stamped on it released by the Gates Foundation was false. The video shows an aphid, not a mosquito with a number stamped on it and released by Bill Gates.

And Wagner’s beloved fireflies – like so many insects worldwide – have largely vanished in what scientists are calling the global Insect Apocalypse. “Insects are the food that make all the birds and make all the fish,” said Wagner, who works at the University of Connecticut. Humans, too, see some 2,000 species of insects as food. “We’d see yields dropping of all of these crops.”And in nature, about 80% of wild plants rely on insects for pollination. WINNERS AND LOSERSWhile the situation is bleak for insects at large, a few types of insects are thriving.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ Pakistan floods: Children face a new disaster -- diarrhea, dengue and other waterborne diseases
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Sophia Saifi Rhea Mogul Anna Coren Sandi Sidhu Javed Iqbal Sameer Mandhro | Sophia Saifi | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A sick baby waits to be seen at the Mother and Child Healthcare Hospital in Pakistan’s Sindh province. Credit: Javed Iqbal/CNNDozens more children sleep cramped together on beds in the facility’s emergency room; some unconscious from their illness, others crying in pain. And then our patients came in like the floods,” said Dr. Nazia Urooj, physician in-charge at the hospital’s children emergency unit. This is the face of a near unprecedented health crisis unfolding across Pakistan – but for many, help is not arriving. In Sindh, one of the worst-impacted provinces, villages have been completely cut off, making it nearly impossible for families to seek help for their sick children.

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) "Super floods" in Pakistan have left 3.4 million children in need of "immediate, lifesaving support," according to UNICEF. The floods -- caused by record monsoon rains and dubbed by one minister as "the worst humanitarian disaster in a decade" -- have impacted 16 million children in total, UNICEF's Pakistan Representative Abdullah Fadil said following his visit this week to the country's southern Sindh Province. That estimate came as the country's National Disaster Management Authority updated the death toll from the floods since mid-June to 1,545 people, 552 of them children. Meanwhile, officials in the country warn that toll is likely to rise as deaths are being under reported and diseases like dengue fever are on the rise. Azra Pechuho, health minister for the southern Sindh Province -- one of the hardest hit areas where many schools and other facilities remain shut, said there was now a "state of emergency" caused by the vast amount of standing water, which provides the perfect breeding conditions for Aedes mosquitoes to spread the dengue virus.

☆ ATENȚIE a început sezonul țânțarilor. Cum ne protejăm de aceste insecte
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-06 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

În afară de disconfortul creat de pișcături, peste un milion de oameni din întreaga lume mor anual de boli transmise de țânțari. Deci, dacă respiri mai mult decât cei din jur sau faci mișcare în aer liber, este posibil să fii o țintă. Prin urmare, un pas critic în prevenirea pișcăturilor țânțarilor este să vă asigurați că îndepărtați sau tratați apa din jurul casei. Aedes aegypti, țânțarul cu febră galbenă și Aedes albopictus, țânțarul tigru asiatic, tind să se reproducă în recipiente umplute cu apă. Dacă aveți o fântână, experții au spus că ar trebui să tratați apa cu un insecticid bacterian.

Persons: Tânțarii, Aedes Locations: Pandemia, Vest, SUA

☆ Un roi gigantic de țânțari modificați genetic se pregătește să invadeze Florida; Demersul stârnește mari controverse
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-03 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +5 min

Sursa foto: APUn roi gigantic de țânțari modificați genetic se pregătește să invadeze Florida; Demersul stârnește mari controverseUn roi gigantic de țânțari modificați genetic se pregătește să invadeze Florida. În această primăvară, compania de biotehnologie Oxitec intenționează să elibereze țânțari modificați genetic în arhipeleagul Florida Keys. Recent, compania a solicitat din nou aprobarea pentru a elibera o nouă versiune a țânțarilor. Compania susține că nu există niciun risc în utilizarea tetraciclinei pentru reproducerea țânțarilor modificați genetic. Nu există, susțin aceștia, o monitorizare a bolilor în țările în care Oxitec a eliberat țânțari și nici informații despre prețul tehnologiei.

Persons: Oxitec, Țânțarii Organizations: EPA, Compania, Universitatea Yale, Yale Locations: Florida, Florida Keys, Brazilia, SUA

☆ Virusul Zika se transmite prin înțepătură de țânțar și prin contact sexual
▼ + stars: | 2016-07-15 | by ( ) unghiul.com time to read: +2 min

După ce primul caz de infestare cu virusul Zika a fost confirmat în București, la o pacientă de 27 de ani care s-a întors dintr-o călătorie în Martinica, Ministerul Sănătății al României avertizează cu privire la riscurile de transmitere a virusului. Astfel, persoanele care călătoresc sau locuiesc în zone cu transmitere activă a virusului Zika trebuie să știe că virusul Zika se poate transmite prin înțepătură de țânțar, dar și prin contact sexual. Țânțarii care transmit virusul Zika sunt numiți Aedes și au activitate maximă în timpul zilei. Cât pentru cei care revin din regiuni cu transmitere activă a virusului Zika și în special pentru femeile insărcinate care au călătorit sau locuit în regiuni cu transmitere activă a virusului Zika, acestora le este recomandat să menționeze aceasta situație medicului care monitorizează sarcina. Daca apar simptome compatibile cu infecția cu virusul Zika ar trebui să respecte abstinența/contacte sexuale protejate pentru cel puțin 6 luni.

Organizations: Ministerul Sănătății, României Locations: București, Martinica

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