Symposium Genetically modified mosquitoes 7 June 2017 : a new tool for vector control?
27 February 2017
To mark the publication of its opinion on use of genetically modified mosquitoes for vector control, following a referral from the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs, the High Council for Biotechnology (HCB) is holding a symposium on 7 June 2017.
The HCB opinion, based on a scientific report produced jointly with France’s National Centre of Expertise on Vectors (CNEV) as well as on work in HCB on social, economic and ethical aspects, comes amidst a changing health environment, marked by the emergence of mosquito-borne diseases in French overseas departments and territories and also by invasion of metropolitan France by a new species of mosquito, the tiger mosquito, a vector of major human viral pathogens. What are the potential risks and benefits of using genetically modified mosquitoes in these circumstances? Could they usefully be included in the array of existing vector control methods? What are their distinctive features in relation to other emerging vector control techniques?