American technology company Google has proposed releasing 32 million laboratory bred male mosquitoes over two years to help control diseases spread by mosquitoes.
The project has been developed under Google’s scientific program “Debug” and aims to reduce the population of disease carrying mosquitoes.
According to the plan, the male mosquitoes will be infected with a specific bacterium called “Wolbachia pipientis.” Eggs produced after mating with these male mosquitoes will not hatch, which will gradually reduce the overall mosquito population over time.
According to Google experts, only female mosquitoes bite humans, therefore the laboratory bred male mosquitoes will not increase the risk of mosquito bites to people.
Google has submitted a request to the United States Environmental Protection Agency for an experimental permit.
Under the project, 16 million male mosquitoes will be released during the first year and another 16 million during the second year in Florida and California.
According to international media reports, the use of sterile insects to reduce insect populations is not a new technique. It has previously been used against various harmful flies and agricultural pests.
