PUTRAJAYA: The field tests for the transgenic male mosquitoes, or the releases of genetically modified male mosquitoes to control the population of Aedes mosquitoes that spreads dengue fever, is expected to begin in December, director-general of Biosafety Letchumanan Ramatha said.
Letchumanan, who is also the National Biosafety Board secretary said the approval for the tests had been granted to the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) on Oct 5.
“According to the law, the board has the power to make the decision (to approve). We’ve informed the Cabinet and so far, (there is) no objection from them,” he told reporters yesterday.
Letchumanan said two locations had been chosen for the tests, namely Bentong in Pahang and Alor Gajah in Melaka, as they fulfilled the stipulated conditions, including having high population of aedes, being isolated areas and not near any protected areas for environment conservation purposes.
He said the tests, titled Limited Mark-Release-Recapture, were aimed at making comparison and assessment on the longevity and the extent of the spread of the transgenic male mosquitoes with the non-transgenic mosquitoes.
It was vital to collect data and find out the mosquitoes’ survivality in a natural environment because when the government agreed to release the mosquitoes on a mass scale, the number that should be released would be known, he said.
Letchumanan said in the tests, which would take about a month to be completed, between 4,000 and 6,000 transgenic male mosquitoes would be released simultaneously or in two stages, at both occupied and unoccupied areas, within a radius of five square kilometres.
At the same time, he said the same number of non-transgenic male mosquitoes would also be released.
The movement of the mosquitoes would be monitored as mosquito traps would be set up to recapture them and after a month, fogging would be carried out in the areas to kill any remaining mosquitoes, Letchumanan also stressed that the public need not worry about the tests as they were harmless and the mosquitoes would neither bite nor spread any disease. — Bernama