Latest news with #Oxitec
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
The hidden menace on the rise in Australia's favourite winter holiday destinations
Of the 13,343 dengue cases reported in Australian between 2012 and 2022, 94 per cent were contracted overseas, mostly from Thailand and Indonesia, a Journal of Travel Medicine study found. One paper estimated six out of every 1000 travellers to high-risk areas catch dengue per month. Several variants are circulating at once, driving the current outbreaks. Climate change has also expanded mosquito habitats, accelerated breeding cycles and shortened the time the virus needs to replicate within its insect hosts, Dr Gregor Devine at the World Mosquito Program said. Warmer temperatures may have also weakened a key weapon dispatched against dengue-carrying mosquitoes across Asia and the Pacific, including Australia. When mosquitoes are infected with a type of bacteria called Wolbachia, their ability to transmit viruses is vastly reduced. Scientists have bred Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into local populations around Cairns and Townsville, for example, and almost eradicated local cases of dengue. (A case reported in Cairns in May, however, marked the first locally acquired dengue infection since 2018). The World Mosquito Program rolled out the technique in two regions of Bali last year and expects it could prevent half a million dengue cases over 15 years. Similar programs are planned or underway in other badly hit countries including Kiribati and Timor-Leste. The bacteria, however, are sensitive to heat and start to die off within mosquito larva when temperatures surpass 30 degrees, mosquito expert Dr Perran Stott-Ross from the University of Melbourne said. That could contribute to more dengue cases as hot days and heat waves become more frequent. 'There's a pretty clear link between temperature and Wolbachia loss,' Stott-Ross said. 'We know when Cairns had its hottest day on record several years ago that the Wolbachia took a bit of a hit.' Loading There is another proposed dengue-busting proposal on the table, but Stott-Ross is cautious about the idea while the Wolbachia approach remains effective. UK company Oxitec and the CSIRO have applied to release genetically modified male mosquitoes in Queensland to slash populations of invasive, disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Oxitec's mosquitos pass on a DNA tweak which kills female larvae. But Stott-Ross is concerned that could undermine the Wolbachia method if there's a crash in mosquito numbers and then mosquitoes without the bacteria re-populate. 'I think it's a really useful technology. I just don't think there's a need for it in Australia at the moment,' he said. 'We've already got something which seems to be working quite well which is the Wolbachia, and it's already been released pretty much everywhere in Queensland where dengue would be a concern.' Oxitec said in a statement that having other tools to control mosquitoes 'can only be a good thing for local authorities' given the Wolbachia approach hadn't fully eliminated dengue. Stott-Ross is researching more heat-tolerant strains of Wolbachia and how mosquitoes could spread under climate change.
The Age
a day ago
- Health
- The Age
The hidden menace on the rise in Australia's favourite winter holiday destinations
Of the 13,343 dengue cases reported in Australian between 2012 and 2022, 94 per cent were contracted overseas, mostly from Thailand and Indonesia, a Journal of Travel Medicine study found. One paper estimated six out of every 1000 travellers to high-risk areas catch dengue per month. Several variants are circulating at once, driving the current outbreaks. Climate change has also expanded mosquito habitats, accelerated breeding cycles and shortened the time the virus needs to replicate within its insect hosts, Dr Gregor Devine at the World Mosquito Program said. Warmer temperatures may have also weakened a key weapon dispatched against dengue-carrying mosquitoes across Asia and the Pacific, including Australia. When mosquitoes are infected with a type of bacteria called Wolbachia, their ability to transmit viruses is vastly reduced. Scientists have bred Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into local populations around Cairns and Townsville, for example, and almost eradicated local cases of dengue. (A case reported in Cairns in May, however, marked the first locally acquired dengue infection since 2018). The World Mosquito Program rolled out the technique in two regions of Bali last year and expects it could prevent half a million dengue cases over 15 years. Similar programs are planned or underway in other badly hit countries including Kiribati and Timor-Leste. The bacteria, however, are sensitive to heat and start to die off within mosquito larva when temperatures surpass 30 degrees, mosquito expert Dr Perran Stott-Ross from the University of Melbourne said. That could contribute to more dengue cases as hot days and heat waves become more frequent. 'There's a pretty clear link between temperature and Wolbachia loss,' Stott-Ross said. 'We know when Cairns had its hottest day on record several years ago that the Wolbachia took a bit of a hit.' Loading There is another proposed dengue-busting proposal on the table, but Stott-Ross is cautious about the idea while the Wolbachia approach remains effective. UK company Oxitec and the CSIRO have applied to release genetically modified male mosquitoes in Queensland to slash populations of invasive, disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Oxitec's mosquitos pass on a DNA tweak which kills female larvae. But Stott-Ross is concerned that could undermine the Wolbachia method if there's a crash in mosquito numbers and then mosquitoes without the bacteria re-populate. 'I think it's a really useful technology. I just don't think there's a need for it in Australia at the moment,' he said. 'We've already got something which seems to be working quite well which is the Wolbachia, and it's already been released pretty much everywhere in Queensland where dengue would be a concern.' Oxitec said in a statement that having other tools to control mosquitoes 'can only be a good thing for local authorities' given the Wolbachia approach hadn't fully eliminated dengue. Stott-Ross is researching more heat-tolerant strains of Wolbachia and how mosquitoes could spread under climate change.
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
GM mosquitoes: inside the lab breeding six-legged agents in the war on malaria
I n an unassuming building on an industrial estate outside Oxford, Michal Bilski sits in a windowless room with electric fly swatters and sticky tape on the wall, peering down a microscope. On the slide before him is a line of mosquito eggs that he collected less than an hour previously and put into position with a brush. Bilski manoeuvres a small needle filled with a DNA concoction and uses it to pierce each egg and inject a tiny amount. 'Each slide has between 50 and 100 eggs on it, and it takes from 15 minutes to half an hour to inject them all,' he says. 'Normally in a day we would inject between 500 to over 1,000 eggs.' Michal Bilski's lab can inject 1,000 eggs a day with modified DNA. Photograph: Tom Pilston/Guardian Bilski, a research and development team leader for the biotechnology company Oxitec, is carrying out one of the early stages in the process of making genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes. It is hoped the insects that hatch will prove instrumental in the fight against diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya of which mosquitoes are vectors. Last year, Oxitec released tens of thousands of GM mosquitoes in Djibouti, where there has been a resurgence of malaria caused by an invasive species. It was the first time such mosquitoes have been released in east Africa and the second time on the continent. It follows multiple releases of modified mosquitoes in Florida and Brazil to combat dengue fever, a neglected tropical disease. The impact of these mosquitoes on malaria transmission could be significant, believes Lottie Renwick, head of strategy for Malaria No More UK. 'They will play a really major role and be gamechanging,' she says, but adds that the intervention needs to work alongside other tools such as mosquito nets and injections. Workers in Djibouti release a batch of Oxitec's GM mosquitoes. Photograph: Courtesy of Oxitec Malaria is transmitted by female mosquitoes and is one of the biggest killers of children under five. According to the World Health Organization, in 2023 there were an estimated 263m cases of malaria and 597,000 deaths in 83 countries. Africa bears the greatest burden (94% of cases) and children under five accounted for more than three-quarters (76%) of all malaria deaths. Normally in a day, we would inject between 500 to over 1,000 eggs Michal Bilski, Oxitec Djibouti, an east African country of a million people, had been close to eliminating the disease, but cases jumped from just 27 in 2012 to more than 73,000 in 2020. The cause was a species of mosquito that came from south Asia and the Arabian peninsula into Africa. The Anopheles stephensi mosquito has since been detected in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Kenya, as well as Nigeria and Ghana in west Africa. According to one study, if this mosquito is left unchecked an additional 126 million people on the continent will be at risk of malaria. If the invasive Anopheles stephensi mosquito is left unchecked, one study estimates that 126 million more people in Africa will be at risk of malaria. Photograph: Tom Pilston/Guardian It is a big threat because it thrives in urban environments, unlike other malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa that primarily breed in rural areas. Cities in Africa are growing rapidly, with more than half of Africans predicted to be urban dwellers by 2035. Anopheles stephensi has also been found to be resistant to many of the insecticides used to control mosquito populations. They bite in the evening before most people's bedtime – not in the middle of the night like other mosquitoes – making bed nets less effective as protection. The government of Djibouti – aware of the work to develop and deploy GM mosquitoes to fight invasive species that spread dengue fever in Brazil – has partnered with Oxitec to tackle the threat. In the laboratory, once every egg has been injected with the DNA, they are taken to a warm and humid room in which the conditions are ripe for them to mature into adults. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Michal Bilski inserts genes into mosquito eggs. Photograph: Tom Pilston/Guardian White shelves line the walls; on one side of the room are trays of water with mosquito larvae in them, while on the adjacent wall are plastic boxes filled with fully grown insects. One box has a contraption containing blood on top for the female mosquitoes to feed on. Inside the box the mosquitoes' bottoms are pointing up, a sign that these insects carry the parasite that causes malaria. It takes four or five days for the 5-30% of the eggs that usually survive the injection to hatch into larvae. In total, an egg typically takes about 14 days to develop into an adult mosquito. In another room a few doors down, Anna Schoenauer, a team leader, is also glued to a microscope. When she shines blue light on the slide, a group of mosquitoes, magnified on a screen, can be seen wriggling around, glowing fluorescent green. This is as a result of a marker that they were injected with alongside the DNA, to signify whether they are carrying the altered gene. GM mosquitoes carry a gene that stops normal cellular functions. If they mate, female offspring die, while males, which do not bite, mate and spread the gene. Photograph: Tom Pilston/Guardian The lab-produced mosquitoes carry a 'self-limiting' gene that blocks normal cellular processes, which means if they mate, any female offspring will die. The male progeny, which do not bite, will survive and go on to mate with other wild females. With sustained releases of these 'friendly mosquitoes', more females die off, greatly reducing the mosquito population and the spread of malaria. Scientists at Oxitec and malaria and mosquito experts insist these mosquitoes are safe. After evaluating the risk, the US Food and Drug Administration in 2016 and the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2022 confirmed that the mosquitoes did not pose a threat to humans or the environment. Climate crisis 'may put 8bn at risk of malaria and dengue' There are no results published yet from the work going on in Djibouti, and Grey Frandsen, chief executive officer at Oxitec, acknowledges that much work remains to be done. 'We're working on the invasive species but there are multiple species that transmit malaria,' he says. 'There is no silver bullet in the malaria fight.' Currently, most of the funding going into technologies such as this comes from international donors and philanthropists. With the Trump administration's shutdown of USAID, the landscape for international humanitarian work has changed, but Frandsen is undeterred. 'We recognise what's happening, and the impact it might be having on the international health community, but this is our time to shine,' he says. 'This is when disruptive tools are needed the most. This is where new technologies have to now play a more important role than ever.'
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Regulatory Reform To Boost U.S. Innovation And National Security
As the U.S. seeks to maintain its global competitiveness in sectors like biotechnology and infrastructure, regulatory reform will play a critical role in shaping that success. As the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Intrexon, a biotechnology company focused on health, energy, food, and the environment, I have personal experience with the challenges faced by the private sector. AquaBounty and Oxitec are two companies that faced an exhausting experience in achieving regulatory approval for their groundbreaking products. While the federal government is making progress and appropriate risks must be managed, these challenges demonstrate how outdated regulatory systems continue to threaten innovation and competitiveness. AquaBounty developed the AquAdvantage Salmon, the first genetically engineered fish approved for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The fish was engineered to grow in half the time of a wild Atlantic salmon and with one-third of the food. The AquAdvantage Salmon was a significant innovation, and the United States biotechnology community led the world in its development. Although FDA scientists deemed the AquAdvantage Salmon fit for human consumption early in the review process, the agency did not grant approval until November 2015—more than two decades after AquaBounty began its initial research and regulatory submissions in the 1990s. Despite finally reaching U.S. stores in 2021, AquaBounty announced in December 2024 that it would cease fish farming operations, citing insufficient liquidity after over a year of unsuccessful efforts to raise capital. This outcome and a challenging regulatory environment serve as a wake-up call for U.S. national competitiveness and innovation. Similarly, Oxitec developed a genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquito. When released, this non-biting male mosquito mates with the wild female mosquito, and the offspring do not survive. The Aedes aegypti mosquito causes the transmission of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Regulators were unprepared for this type of biotech innovation, which resulted in a misaligned and unnecessarily long review process. As a result, the Oxitec mosquito was classified as an 'animal drug' with regulatory oversight from the FDA. Oxitec's genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquito underwent several years of regulatory review by the FDA before being reclassified as a biopesticide and transferred to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2017. Subsequently, the EPA approved an Experimental Use Permit in May 2020, leading to field trials in Florida and Texas in 2022. This reclassification and inefficiency underscore the regulatory challenges biotechnology and other innovative companies face within the U.S. regulatory framework. The regulatory framework must be improved for innovative companies to compete in the global market. This challenge is a national security concern. Like earlier commissions on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (which enhanced national security strategy), Congress established the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB). The commission emphasized that biotechnology is central to national security, public health, and economic competitiveness. As the NSCEB warns, China has made biotechnology a national priority for the past two decades, positioning itself ahead of the United States. This concern is echoed in a recent Forbes article emphasizing the urgency of reclaiming America's biotech edge. The NSCEB recommends a minimum investment of $15 billion over the next five years to support domestic biotechnology research and development. As a military leader with biotechnology experience, I know there are several areas where biotech can significantly impact our national security preparedness. These priorities demand a modernized approach—one that anticipates future threats and removes outdated barriers. I currently serve as a strategic advisor to Ginkgo Bioworks, a publicly traded biotechnology company. During the tragic events of 9/11, I was the senior military officer in the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon, where we monitored the most significant threats to the nation. In the late 1930s, the U.S. Army developed radar to track enemy aircraft. Today, we need a similar system to detect biological threats. As we saw with COVID-19, pathogen spread was discovered only after people had become ill. As Matthew McKnight, General Manager of Biosecurity at Ginkgo Bioworks, stated, 'The earlier you detect, the faster you nip something in the bud.' He leads a team building a 24/7 detection system for hazardous viruses and pathogens. This biological radar, which I previously discussed in a Forbes article on innovation and biosecurity, is designed to provide early warnings and enable faster responses before outbreaks spread. This program enhances national security by enabling early detection of biosecurity threats and helping the U.S. remain competitive with China, just like cybersecurity and AI. While U.S. biotechnology companies navigate a challenging regulatory process, Chinese companies like BGI have expanded their global footprint. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BGI partnered with over 180 countries to provide timely detection and intervention, including the establishment of testing laboratories. BGI's extensive international partnerships bolster its scientific capabilities and position it to influence global health organizations and policy. This strategic positioning highlights the long-term competitive implications for U.S. and other international biotechnology companies. Scaling biotechnology infrastructure is not just a commercial advantage—it is a geopolitical one. Moreover, these challenges extend beyond biotechnology. In July 2012, President Obama announced the "We Can't Wait' initiative to expedite the deepening of the major East Coast ports to accommodate larger post-Panamax ships. The Savannah Harbor Deepening Project, authorized by Congress in 1999, faced an 18-year delay due to bureaucratic complexities and interagency disagreements. As Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, my team and I were directly involved in efforts to move this project forward. Despite bipartisan support, progress was stalled for years due to misalignment among federal agencies on priorities. I saw firsthand how even urgent, nationally significant initiatives can be slowed by the regulatory process. Yet, after years of coordinated effort, the federal government finally approved the start of construction. That hard-won progress is a testament to persistence and collaboration—but also highlights how regulatory inefficiencies can delay essential infrastructure projects and undermine national competitiveness. The federal government can better support innovation and economic prosperity by improving its regulatory process, whether it is biotechnology, infrastructure, or other business sectors. The FDA, EPA, and U.S. Department of Agriculture have made efforts to assist biotechnology developers navigate the regulatory landscape, yet much work remains. Part of the challenge is the lack of accountability and authority to move the regulatory process along. Public companies are held accountable by their shareholders, and quarterly earnings calls allow for discussion of progress on key initiatives. While the U.S. Congress can hold hearings to monitor progress, too many agencies are involved in decision-making with no apparent authority when agencies disagree. That was one of the challenges with the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project. There are years of back-and-forth discussions and collaborations to find common ground. Accountability is essential. Additionally, businesses must understand how to work within the federal government. The federal government has many good people who have implemented processes to mitigate risk. Businesses with team members who have federal government experience can help navigate the regulatory process. The federal government and companies must learn from each other. Regardless of the industry, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology called for reforms addressing the challenges similar to those that I have personally encountered and highlighted in this paper. Some of these reforms include modernizing regulatory frameworks, investing in national biosecurity infrastructure, and making strategic investments. The country needs top-down (government-led) and bottom-up (business-led) partnerships to better understand the challenges and accelerate regulatory progress. Establishing clear timelines, acknowledging defined authority, and fostering accountability in regulatory decision-making are imperative to prevent prolonged delays while managing risks. Such regulatory reforms are essential for the United States to sustain its leadership in innovation and drive the future of biotechnology. Leaders in business and government must work together to modernize our approach—because America's ability to innovate, compete, and lead depends on it.
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Scientists worried about CSIRO-backed plan to release genetically modified mosquitos in Queensland
A CSIRO-backed plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Queensland to combat dengue fever has sparked concern from scientists who suggest it could interfere with successful control programs and increase the risk of insecticide resistance. Oxitec Australia, a collaboration between a British biotechnology firm and the CSIRO, has applied to sell a GM strain of Aedes aegypti mosquito, the main culprit for transmitting dengue and other viruses. The strain, called OX5034 A. aegypti, prevents female mosquitoes from surviving into adulthood. Only female mosquitoes bite, spreading diseases to animals in the process. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Oxitec is proposing to sell the mosquitoes for Queensland residents to release. After release, they would breed with local A. aegypti mozzies, reducing populations. An Oxitec Australia spokesperson said the sale of the strain would 'be available to protect Australian communities' and released only after it passed 'stringent government and regulatory approvals and undergoes extensive community engagement and consultation'. But mosquito experts have criticised the proposal. 'We should be very concerned about this release going ahead as planned,' Dr Perran Ross, a scientist at the University of Melbourne who worked on mosquitoes for more than a decade, said. 'I'm not opposed to the [GM] technology in general but I am opposed to the approach they're using, taking a foreign mosquito strain and then releasing that straight into the wild.' The OX5034 strain is engineered from mosquitoes originating from Mexico. Though Oxitec has conducted field trials in the United States, and Brazil, where the strain is commercially available, releases have not yet been tested in Australia. Australian mosquitoes are uniquely susceptible to insecticides such as pyrethroids, Ross said. 'There's insecticide resistance almost everywhere else in the world. If you're releasing a mosquito strain from a different country … there's that risk that it might introduce genes that cause insecticide resistance.' Climate adaptation was another concern, Ross said. 'If you take mosquitoes from Mexico and bring them to Australia, you might get some genes that make them more tolerant to dry climates or other conditions. We don't really know what the effect of that is going to be, but it is a potential risk.' There are also concerns the Oxitec mosquitoes could interfere with success of Wolbachia programs, which have virtually eliminated dengue in far north Queensland. Since 2011, mosquitoes infected with naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria have been released in the state's north as part of a World Mosquito Program initiative. The Wolbachia prevents the mosquitoes from transmitting viruses. 'Wolbachia has eliminated dengue as a public health problem over the last decade there,' said Prof Cameron Simmons, executive director of global delivery at the World Mosquito Program. 'I can't see anyone spending public funds, or even really private funds, to suppress A. aegypti mosquitoes with Oxitec GMO mosquitoes in far north Queensland.' Ross said: 'My major concern is the interference with the Wolbachia approach. 'They have very different objectives: the Wolbachia approach doesn't aim to wipe out populations, it's only replacing them with ones that don't spread dengue as well. 'The GM mosquitoes are going to actually compete and wipe those ones out.' A spokesperson for Oxitec Australia said: 'There is no scientific evidence to suggest that there would be any negative interaction with mosquitoes that carry Wolbachia … We are committed to applying robust and transparent scientific processes to ensure that this technology is tested and is safe for deployment.' Oxitec Australia has applied to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator for a licence for commercial release. Public consultation on the proposal is expected to open in March; a public petition opposing the proposal was tabled in Queensland parliament last week. Oxitec Australia says its mosquitoes could provide 'an extra level of protection against dengue' in areas where Wolbachia has not been introduced – such as the Torres Strait, where there was an outbreak late last year – and 'further reduc[e] the risk of dengue in areas where Wolbachia is present.' Addressing insecticide concerns, Oxitec says its 'Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been proven to dilute resistance to insecticides among wild mosquito populations'. 'Oxitec's technology is also sustainable, chemical-free, highly effective, and harmless to non-target species including mosquito predators,' a spokesperson said. It will reduce dependence on pesticide-based controls, lowering environmental impacts and therefore help to protect native mosquitoes and other insect species like pollinators.'
