California might soon serve as a testing site for one of Google’s boldest public health initiatives.
The tech company is seeking permission from federal authorities to release up to 32 million specially treated mosquitoes in California and Florida over the next couple of years. This action aims to decrease the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis, dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
The proposal is under review by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which is accepting public feedback until June 5 as it considers granting an experimental use permit.
So far, there’s no word on where the mosquito releases might take place if the plan gets the green light.
Researchers indicate that this initiative targets Culex mosquitoes, which are known to carry both West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis.
As noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus is currently the leading mosquito-borne illness in the United States. These viruses are already present in California, naturally circulating through local bird and mosquito populations.
Recently, a positive West Nile virus sample was confirmed in Riverside County.
This project falls under Google’s relatively obscure Debug initiative, which began over a decade ago with the goal of creating new technologies to control disease-carrying mosquito populations.
Rather than releasing biting insects, the company intends to distribute male mosquitoes that are infected with Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria. When these males mate with wild females, the resulting offspring are non-viable, gradually reducing mosquito numbers.
As only female mosquitoes bite, experts suggest this strategy should not result in an increase in biting mosquitoes.
Chad Huff, a public information officer for the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, commented, “It’s a great concept, and we’re putting it to real use to see if it works.” He mentioned that mosquito control agencies have been looking into alternatives to traditional pesticide methods for some time now.
On the other hand, Florida resident Brent Nye expressed some doubts. “I think it’s interesting,” he said, “but I’m not sure whether I would want them in my backyard. There are likely to be many things that could go wrong. I’d prefer if another state tried this first.”
Google has indicated that artificial intelligence and robotic systems will be utilized to breed, sort, and release the mosquitoes on a large enough scale to make the approach effective.
