Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
Return to PR Newswire homepage
  • News
  • Products
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All Public Company News
      • All Multimedia News
      • View All News Releases

      • Regulatory News

      • D/A/CH Regulatory News
      • UK Regulatory News
      • View All Regulatory News

  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads & Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking & Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers & Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalisation
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls & Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil & Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defence
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking & Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers & Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines & Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics & Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture & Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewellery
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks & Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Animal Welfare
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Economic News, Trends & Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • Labour & Union
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Public Safety
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Disclosure Services
  • SocialBoost
  • Rooms
    • MediaRoom
    • ESG Rooms
  • AI Tools
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PR Newswire UK provides press release distribution, targeting, monitoring, and marketing services
  • Send a Release
    • Phone

    • +44 (0)20 7454 5110 from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us

      +44 (0)20 7454 5110
      from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • News in Focus
    • Browse News Releases
    • Regulatory News
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
    • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • AI Tools
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists

Oxitec's Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in Panama Pilot Achieve Over 90% Control of the Mosquito Responsible for Outbreaks of Dengue Fever and Chikungunya


News provided by

Oxitec Ltd

27 Jan, 2015, 08:30 GMT

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

OXFORD, England, January 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Oxitec and the Gorgas Institute in Panama today announce the result of the outdoor pilot of Oxitec OX513A, an engineered strain of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The outcome was a reduction of over 90% in the local population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the dengue and chikungunya viruses.

The study took place in a neighbourhood of Nuevo Chorrillo, a residential suburb of the Arraiján District, west of Panama City. The 10 hectare urban area is home to approximately 900 residents and contains a school and several small businesses. Two similar neighbourhoods nearby were monitored for comparison purposes.

Male Oxitec OX513A mosquitoes, termed 'friendly mosquitoes' by many residents, were released throughout the study area on a regular basis. Whenever these males, which cannot bite or transmit disease, mated with local female Aedes aegypti, their offspring died before adulthood. This reduced the population in successive generations of mosquitoes until, after only six months, the reduction was over 90% relative to the comparison sites.

Hadyn Parry, CEO of Oxitec commented:

"We have been delighted to work with the Gorgas Institute - as they are a world-leader in developing advanced approaches for controlling disease-carrying mosquitoes. Achieving over 90% suppression of the local Aedes aegypti population is particularly pleasing because the project took place going into the rainy season, when mosquito numbers rise significantly. Furthermore, these results are wholly consistent with those from studies by collaborators in the Cayman Islands and Brazil. The Oxitec solution is far and away the most sustainable way to control Aedes aegypti since it affects only the target species and does not persist in the environment. It provides an urgently needed new tool that can be used in conjunction with existing programmes."

The pilot was conducted by the Gorgas Institute with the OX513A eggs and technical support coming from Oxitec. Prior to the pilot, approval was obtained from Panama's National Biosafety Committee, and from the Ministries of Agricultural Development and Commerce and Industry. In addition, extensive community engagement was carried out locally.

Nestor Sosa, Director of the Institute, said:

"Panama, like many countries in the region, has been experiencing a dengue epidemic and more recently we are seeing a new virus, chikungunya, coming to our country. Aedes aegypti is the main vector of both these debilitating diseases for which there is no medication or vaccine. Chemical based approaches have not been able to control this mosquito sufficiently well to prevent the epidemics that Panama has experienced. The pest reductions achieved using the Oxitec solution go far beyond what is practical with conventional insecticides and therefore gives real hope of providing people with vitally needed protection from dengue and chikungunya."

About dengue fever and chikungunya 

Dengue is a debilitating disease spread by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, with Aedes aegypti being the primary vector in the Americas and hence the priority for control. Dengue causes a range of severe flu-like symptoms, and is sometimes in extreme cases, fatal. Dengue is estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to affect 50-100 million people a year; a recent publication in Nature estimated the actual number of infections to be 390 million. Dengue incidence is increasing rapidly around the world and there is currently no vaccine or specific medication. In 2013, Panama had over 3,000 reported dengue cases - more than treble the number in 2012 and the country is still epidemic for dengue.

According to the WHO, at present the only way to combat dengue is to control the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

Chikungunya is a different virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. In late 2013, the first local transmission of chikungunya virus in the Americas was identified in Caribbean countries. The USA Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that there have since been one million cases in the Americas. Chikungunya can cause severe muscle pain and cramps, and over 10% of people can develop persistent arthralgia for a number of years after acute infection. Like dengue it can only be transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.

About Oxitec Ltd 

Oxitec is a pioneer in using genetic engineering to control insects that spread disease and damage crops. Its solutions build upon the use of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), an effective, species-specific and environmentally friendly method of controlling harmful and damaging insects. Oxitec's first products are for the control of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species primarily responsible for transmitting dengue fever, and Mediterranean fruit fly, one of the world's most damaging agricultural pests.

About the Gorgas Institute (Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud) 

The Gorgas Institute is a long established Panamanian public health institution with national and international recognition, generating new knowledge to guide health policies and interventions.

For more information:  

Site: http://www.oxitec.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oxitec

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/oxitec

Modal title

Contact PR Newswire

  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
    from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships

Products

  • Content Distribution
  • Multimedia Services
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®

About

  • About PR Newswire
  • About Cision
  • Partnering Opportunities
  • Careers
  • Accessibility Statement
  • APAC
  • APAC - Simplified Chinese
  • APAC - Traditional Chinese
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Czech
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • Middle East - Arabic
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United States
  • Vietnam

My Services

  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Data Privacy

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via Privacy@cision.com 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact PR Newswire

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
+44 (0)20 7454 5110
from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 PR Newswire Europe Limited. All Rights Reserved. A Cision company.