Fact Check-The World Mosquito Programme has not released genetically modified insects in Australia – Reuters

A Facebook user has posted a series of screenshots from the website of the World Mosquito Programme (WMP) alongside news headlines claiming genetically modified insects have been released in Australia. However, the WMP told Reuters this claim is false.

The post, from March 13, consists of seven screenshots in total (here). Five are from the WMP webpage discussing the release of bacteria-laden mosquitoes in northern Australia (worldmosquitoprogram.org). One is from British tabloid The Sun, which has the headline: Bill Gates donates 3 million to create mosquitos that kill each other using SEX (here). The final screenshot shows another headline taken from CBS Miami. It reads: Bill Gates fights for end to mosquito-borne illness (here).

Compiling all the images into one post, the Facebook user then implies they are proof of his argument. Did you know they are releasing genetically modified mosquitos in Australia? Source: mosquitoprogram.org, he writes in the main portion of the post.

However, none of the screenshots offer evidence of this. Firstly, the WMP webpage has nothing to do with genetic engineering. It discusses the process of breeding Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that are infected with Wolbachia, a type of bacteria that renders the insect less likely to pass specific viruses onto humans (here).

The mosquitoes we release are not genetically modified, a WMP spokesperson told Reuters by email. Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacteria in 60% of insects. Our process of injecting Wolbachia into Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes does not alter the genetic material of either the Wolbachia bacteria or the mosquito.

Speaking in 2019, Dr Richard Gair, the director of Tropical Public Health Services in Cairns, Australia, credited the WMPs project with mostly eliminating the dengue virus in dengue-prone areas of the region (here). This result came after Cairns recorded one of its worst dengue outbreaks on record during the 2008/09 wet season.

There was a significant public health response at the time, and this was followed by the World Mosquito Program (WMP), formerly Eliminate Dengue, releasing mosquitoes with bacteria called Wolbachia, in 2011, said Gair. Together with our mosquito monitoring and spraying program, the implementation of the WMPs Wolbachia approach has proved highly effective in preventing outbreaks recurring in this region.

Meanwhile, the final two screenshots included in the Facebook post are not related to the WMP. The CBS headline refers to an article about Bill Gates pledging more money to fight tropical disease in general, while The Sun headline refers to Gates donating to a UK-based company researching genetically modified mosquitoes.

Oxitec, a biotechnology company, has released genetically modified mosquitoes with a self-limiting gene in Brazil (here), the Cayman Islands (here) and Panama (here). It plans to also release the insects in Florida and Texas (here). A company spokesperson told Reuters that no such release had taken place in Australia.

The WMP spokesperson told Reuters they believed no genetically modified mosquitoes had been released in Australia. There are, however, studies being carried out in secure Australian labs on mosquitoes and fruit flies (here, here, here). Scientists involved in the mosquito study have also noted that a lot of work will be necessary to encourage community engagement before anything can be released (here).

False. While genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in some countries, they have not been released in Australia. The World Mosquito Programme has released mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia bacteria but this method does not involve genetic modification.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checkingwork here.

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Fact Check-The World Mosquito Programme has not released genetically modified insects in Australia - Reuters