Tag: Dr Jim McNelly
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 […]
Minister visits MRCU a year after taking office
(CNS): More than twelve months after taking office, Health Minister Dwayne Seymour, accompanied by senior officials, made his first visit to the Mosquito Research and Control Unit headquarters last week, despite the controversies surrounding the contract with Oxitec, the bio-engineering firm that is producing sterile genetically modified mosquitoes. It is not clear why Seymour has […]
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 […]
Cover-up over GM mozzie project denied
(CNS): Officials have said emails sent by Nancy Barnard while she was acting director of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit have been distorted and that she was not trying to cover anything up about the controversial genetically modified mosquito pilot. Barnard, who was corresponding with scientists about the results of the MRCU and Oxitec project […]
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 […]
