Tag: Aedes aegypti
Mystery ‘attack’ in Cuba likely mozzie spray
(CNS): Canadian researchers might have identified the cause of a mystery illness suffered by diplomatic staff in Cuba three years ago as mosquito repellent gas. After several overseas staff from various countries reported mysterious symptoms, officials from the US, in particular, accused the Cuban government of an “acoustic attack” with a secret sonic weapon.
MRCU using CUC meters to map inspections
(CNS): A team of disease prevention officers (DPOs) from the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) has begun residential inspections to collect data on where the dangerous Aedes aegypti mosquito is breeding. Officials said that the DPOs are inspecting the grounds of homes for containers, whether human-made, such as buckets, tyres and cisterns, or natural, like […]
Cayman remains dengue free despite regional outbreak
(CNS): Pubic officials have investigated 19 patients in the Cayman Islands over the last month to ensure they were not suffering from dengue, as a result of a regional outbreak of the fever which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoe. The Public Health Department said that it it has received test results for 13 cases, all of […]
Minister claims GM mosquitoes didn’t work
(CNS): The environmental health minister, who has responsibility for the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU). has said the release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in West Bay did not work and has confirmed that when the Oxitec contract formally ends on 31 December, that will be “the last you hear about Oxitec being […]
MRCU aims to eradicate Aedes aegypti
(CNS): The Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) has created a board made up largely of international and global technical experts with the ambitious goal of eradicating the Aedes aegypti mosquito from Grand Cayman. The creation of this specialist advisory board was revealed in a press release from government, which said the board would provide input on […]
MRCU signs new $600k deal with Oxitec
(CNS): Despite recent revelations that the pilot project using genetically modified male mosquitoes to reduce the Aedes aegypti population fell far short of expectations, the government has signed a new deal with biotechnology company, Oxitec, to continue releasing them. The contract is costing the public purse around CI$588,000 and appears to be not much more than a […]
GM mozzie trial in WB may have failed
(CNS): Documents and correspondence released to GeneWatch, a UK-based NGO, under a freedom of information request appear to show that there is no evidence that the controversial release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in West Bay by Oxitec in co-ordination with the Cayman Islands Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) made any impact on the […]
US mosquito expert lands top job at MRCU
(CNS): The new head of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) is an American mosquito expert, government officials confirmed Tuesday. Dr James “Jim” McNelly will start work in Cayman on Monday, 5 March, when he leaves his current job at the Mosquito Control Division of Volusia County in Florida, where he has been director for more […]
Success of GM mozzie project queried by MRCU
(CNS): Government has cancelled a planned national roll-out of the controversial genetically modified mosquito project by the UK-based firm Oxitec. Nancy Barnard, the acting director of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, told CNS that the decision not to expand the experimental method for suppressing the Aedes aegypti was due to budget cuts. However, it appears […]
Oxitec bio-bugs ‘ineffective and risky’, claim activists
(CNS): The UK-based anti-GM charity and research group, GeneWatch UK, has taken aim at the project in which millions of bio-engineered mosquitoes were released in the Cayman Islands. In the wake of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit’s first annual report on the progress of the project, the activists called into question the efficiency, effectiveness […]
MRCU plans to expand GM mozzie project
(CNS): Following the near year-long trial in West Bay, where genetically modified mosquitoes were released to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti, the MRCU is planning to expand the programme. The project has proved controversial but interim results show a decline of 79% in the pest. Now the modified mosquitoes could be released across the […]
