There is a 70% Chance That Disease Would Escape from New Kansas Bio Defense Lab; Scientist Create Mosquitoes Immune to the Malaria Parasite; Sterile Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes Released in the Cayman Islands

DHS: '70% Chance Disease Would Escape' from 'Mainland Plum Island' Biodefense Lab

The site of a proposed facility to fight animal diseases, including those which could be spread by bioterrorists, is little more than a parking lot today because of safety and budget concerns. [June 13, 2012 Update]

November 16, 2010

Global Security Newswire - An expert panel said yesterday the U.S. Homeland Security Department has not adequately gauged the potential risks associated with a proposed multimillion-dollar infectious-disease research laboratory in Kansas.

There are “several major shortcomings” in a department risk assessment of its planned National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility near Manhattan, Kansas, according to a report by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The proposed site is roughly 120 miles west of Kansas City.

The facility’s construction is expected to cost between $500 million and $700 million. The 520,000-square-foot center, slated to begin construction in 2012, would study highly infectious animal-borne pathogens, some of which could pose a threat to humans. It would replace the Plum Island Disease Center located near Long Island, New York, which was established in 1937.

The new site would also be the world’s third Biosafety-Level 4 Pathogen laboratory to work with large animals. The other two such facilities are in Australia and Canada.

The DHS assessment, which wrapped up in June, found that there is a nearly 70 percent chance a disease would escape the laboratory during its planned 50-year operational lifespan. The earlier report estimated the economic losses from a postulated foot-and-mouth disease outbreak at $9 billion to $50 billion.

However, yesterday’s 146-page NRC analysis states that the actual amount could be “significantly higher” because the department’s assessment did not consider the dangers associated with daily upkeep of large animal holding rooms.

The earlier evaluation was also criticized for inadequately accounting for the planned facility’s proximity to Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine clinics, where large numbers of sick animals are treated, as well as the university’s football stadium, which has a capacity over 55,000. The large animal and human populations at those sites would be potentially susceptible to infections with a zoonotic agent, the report states. About 9.5 percent of the entire U.S. cattle inventory is raised within 200 miles of the Manhattan site ...

Unnatural Selection: Genetically-Modified, Malaria-Proof Mosquitoes

July 17, 2010

Talking Skull - Scientists have at long last succeeded in creating a mosquito which is immune to the malaria parasite. Via genetic modification they have shortened the insect's lifespan by 20%, which deprives the parasite of sufficient time to mature in the mosquito's gut.

The LA Times states that the researchers "don't yet understand how the genetic change makes the mosquitoes malaria-proof."

That doesn't diminish the tremendous potential it represents for tropical regions around the world, where malaria remains a major scourge and kills nearly 1 million people each year.

According to the BBC,

"[The researchers'] ultimate goal is to introduce malaria-resistant mosquitoes into the environment."

Professor Michael Riehle, working on the project, elaborates:

"Before we do this, we have to somehow give the mosquitoes a competitive advantage over the disease-carrying insects."

How does one give a modified mosquito a 'leg up' over regular mosquitoes? The BBC article suggests that these malaria-proof mosquitoes might be further genetically enhanced to be resistant to toxins that would otherwise kill normal mosquitoes. Immune to bug spray and malaria, these new mosquitoes would be more likely to survive and breed, thus replacing the malaria-prone ones.

Coincidentally, another discovery made recently may provide a different way to give these new mosquitoes an edge over their old-school counterparts. Scientists working at Northwestern University in the United States have pinpointed the gene which is responsible for producing sperm. They also learned that this crucial gene, unchanged for 600 million years, is found in nearly all animals. Of course an animal missing this gene would necessarily be unable to pass on its DNA, and would thus be an evolutionary dead-end. But could the gene be used in some other way, or perhaps enhanced in the malaria-proof mosquitoes? The lead researcher in the study states:

"Our work suggests that disrupting the function of [the sperm gene] in animals most likely will disrupt their breeding and put the threatening parasites or germs under control. This could represent a new direction in our future development of pesticides or medicine against infectious parasites or carriers of germs."

Charles Darwin is undoubtedly rolling over in his grave at these new developments. Playing god with genetics has long been a concern of scientists and watchdogs alike, but these discoveries throw a whole new light on the possibilities -- and the pitfalls. The idea of mosquitoes which are immune to insect repellent is enough to give any adventurer nightmares. Then imagine a super-mosquito which uses its 'competitive advantage' to exterminate normal ones and make life hell for humans! And messing around with the sperm gene - possibly the oldest, and arguably one of the most important -- would make any scientist take pause.

Of course more testing and careful deliberation are needed before these mosquitoes are introduced into the wild. But the world may not wait. The Daily Nation reports that Kenya is already planning to use them to eliminate malaria in seven years.

Do these recent discoveries open the door to the grave danger of genetic experiments gone awry, or are those fears overblown? Do they instead represent promise and hope for the eradication of malaria?

For the First Time, Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Are Released into the Wild

The transgenic animals are designed to help stamp out dengue fever in the Cayman Islands

November 12, 2010

Popular Science - An Oxford-based research firm has announced the results of a release of genetically modified male mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands, the first experiment with GM mosquitoes to take place in the wild.

From May to October of this year, Oxitec released male mosquitoes three times a week in a 40-acre area. The mosquitoes had been genetically modified to be sterile, so that when they mated with the indigenous female mosquitoes there would be no offspring, and the population would shrink.

Mosquito numbers in the region had dropped 80 percent by August, which the researchers expect would result in fewer dengue cases.

Since it’s only females who bite humans and transmit diseases like the untreatable dengue fever this study examined, British biologists suspected that introducing males sterilized by a genetic mutation into the gene pool could dramatically decrease their numbers over time.

While many scientists and environmentalists object to killing off mosquitoes entirely for fear it would harm dependent species, Oxitec asserts that, since the sterilizing gene could not be passed on to subsequent generations, this method will have no permanent ecological impact.

Rather, GM males function like an insecticide, temporarily reducing numbers without the negative effects of using chemical toxins. They can also be more effective against insects that had developed resistance to certain commonly-used pesticides. In regions where booming mosquito populations are have caused epidemic outbreaks of dengue fever, yellow fever and malaria, dramatically reducing the population temporarily could reduce the death toll, and provide valuable lead time to vaccinate and treat hard-hit populations.

As the death toll caused by disease-carrying mosquitoes rises (over 2 million of the 700 million people infected by mosquitoes die annually), science has proposed a wide range of possible solutions to lessen the damage, from lasers to chemicals. But the release of transgenic animals into the wild is a very bold new step.

Mutant Mosquitoes Fight Dengue in Cayman Islands

November 11, 2010

AP – Scientists have released genetically modified mosquitoes in an experiment to fight dengue fever in the Cayman Islands, British experts said Thursday.

It is the first time genetically altered mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild, after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations. But while scientists believe the trial could lead to a breakthrough in stopping the disease, critics argue the mutant mosquitoes might wreak havoc on the environment.

"This test in the Cayman Islands could be a big step forward," said Andrew Read, a professor of biology and entomology at Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the project. "Anything that could selectively remove insects transmitting really nasty diseases would be very helpful," he said.

Dengue is a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease that can cause fever, muscle and joint pain, and hemorrhagic bleeding. More than 2.5 billion people are at risk and the World Health Organization estimates there are at least 50 million cases every year. There is no treatment or vaccine.

Unlike malaria, which is also spread by mosquitoes, dengue outbreaks are unpredictable and bed nets are of limited use because dengue-spreading mosquitoes also bite during the day.

Researchers at Oxitec Limited, an Oxford-based company, created sterile male mosquitoes by manipulating the insects' DNA. Scientists in the Cayman Islands released 3 million mutant male mosquitoes to mate with wild female mosquitoes of the same species. That meant they wouldn't be able to produce any offspring, which would lower the population. Only female mosquitoes bite humans and spread diseases.

From May to October, scientists released batches of genetically mutated male mosquitoes in cages three times a week in a 40-acre (16-hectare) area. By August, mosquito numbers in that region dropped by 80 percent compared with a neighboring area where no sterile male mosquitoes were released.

Luke Alphey, Oxitec's chief scientific officer, said with such a small area, it would have been very difficult to detect a drop in dengue cases. But their modeling estimates suggested an 80 percent reduction in mosquitoes should result in fewer dengue infections.

For years, scientists have been working to create mutant mosquitoes to fight diseases like malaria and dengue, which they say could stop outbreaks before they start. But, others suspect it could be an environmental nightmare.

"If we remove an insect like the mosquito from the ecosystem, we don't know what the impact will be," said Pete Riley, campaign director of GM Freeze, a British non-profit group that opposes genetic modification.

He said mosquito larvae might be food for other species, which could starve if the larvae disappear. Or taking out adult mosquito predators might open up a slot for other insect species to slide in, potentially introducing new diseases.

Humans have a patchy track record of interfering with natural ecosystems, Riley said. In the past, such interventions have led to the overpopulation of species including rabbits and deer.

"Nature often does just fine controlling its problems until we come along and blunder into it."

Oxitec's Alphey said their genetically modified mosquitoes can't permanently change the ecosystem because they only last for a generation. But to stamp out dengue in endemic areas like Asia and South America, billions of the special-order mosquitoes would likely be needed to stifle their wild counterparts.

Yeya Toure, who leads the World Health Organization's team on Innovative Vector Control Interventions, called the Cayman Islands trial promising and said it's worth continuing the genetic modification experiments.

He said genetically altered mosquitoes aren't meant to replace existing tools like insecticides, but to compensate for their limitations, like when mosquitoes develop resistance. Read said creating mutated mosquitoes might actually be the least invasive way to control dengue. By keeping a lid on the mosquito population via genetic modification, Read said entire ecosystems would be spared the toxic effects of indiscriminately spraying pesticides.

He said the bigger problem would be selling the idea of genetically altered mosquitoes to the public. In the Cayman Islands, officials said they worked closely with the local community and encountered surprisingly little resistance.

"We still have people who don't believe in vaccines," Read said. "How are we going to convince them it's OK to let scientists release genetically altered mosquitoes into the wild?"

See: The Gates Foundation, Vaccines and Population Reduction