Tag: Mosquito Research and Control Unit
Concerns grow over mosquito control
(CNS): From the impact on the bee population to pellets contaminating water cisterns, a growing number of people in Cayman are raising the alarm about the current policies of the ministry responsible for the Mosquito Research and Control Unit. While Cayman has always battled the various native and invasive mosquitoes through different means, at present […]
Miller urges gov’t to sort problems with MRCU
(CNS): Ezzard Miller is calling on the government to remedy the serious mosquito infestation plaguing his North Side constituency, which appears to be due to a lack of the necessary chemicals to kill the insects. The MLA, who recently resigned from the opposition leadership, said government should immediately fund the purchase of the insecticides needed […]
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 […]
Oxitec packs up but evaluation not complete
(CNS): The controversial research project which saw genetically modified sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes released into an area of West Bay in a collaboration between the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) and the bio-technology company Oxitec has come to a formal end. However, details of what happened, what went right or wrong, why the government went […]
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 to stop releasing GM mosquitoes
(CNS): The Mosquito Research and Control Unit has admitted that it has stopped the release of Oxitec’s genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Grand Cayman, claiming that it is moving into a monitoring phase just a few months after it entered a deal with the bio-engineering firm in May.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
