Google wants to release 32 million bacteria-treated mosquitoes into Florida.
The plan is part of the company's Debug initiative, a decade-old program that intends to reduce diseases spread by the world's deadliest animal. Google filed an experimental use permit to inject mosquitoes with a specific strain of the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria, which would prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
When an infected male mates with a wild female mosquito, the resulting eggs don't hatch, helping reduce the overall population.
"We're using an idea that's been around since the 1950s. It's called the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), and it has worked on other kinds of bugs — like fruit flies, screwworms, and codling moths," reads Debug's website. "The idea is simple:
raise sterile males and release them into wild insect populations. When a wild female mates with a sterile male, her eggs won’t hatch. The population gets smaller with each generation."
According to BBC Wildlife, a notice that was published in the federal register on May 6 said the EPA received Google’s request for an experimental use permit for "Wolbachia pipientis ... contained in live adult Culex quinquefasciatus male mosquitoes."
Debug has previously focused on the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a transmitter of viruses including dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya. According to University of Florida Assistant Professor Eric Caragata, who specializes in mosquito-microbe interactions, the new Debug request targets the Culex quinquefasciatus variety of mosquito, which can carry West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis.
Still, the strategy has "never worked with mosquitoes at a large enough scale" to halt the transmission of diseases they can bear.
"Mosquitoes are fragile and difficult to rear in the necessary numbers," the site reads. "With Debug, we’re developing new technologies to make it possible.”
The Federal Register notice says 16 million laboratory-bred and sterilized male mosquitoes would be released in Florida and California in the first year of the experiment, followed by another 16 million in the second year. It does not say what county or city the bugs would be released in, or when the test would occur.
Since only female mosquitoes bite, releasing males wouldn't increase the biting populations.
Debug and the EPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the USA TODAY Network.
What kind of mosquito is Debug targeting?
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District already began releasing Wolbachia-treated Aedes aegypti mosquitoes last year, an initiative that had enough success that the organization will be releasing more this year.
A similar method previously worked on the New World screwworm
Releasing sterile bugs into wild populations has previously proved effective in controlling the New World screwworm, a type of fly larvae that primarily attacks livestock, wildlife and pets by burrowing into an open wound “like a screw being driven into wood.” Infections often result in death, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. It has also been used successfully to control the Mediterranean fruit fly.
The United States has previously seen isolated outbreaks of the parasite — including an incident in the Florida Keys in 2017.
What diseases can mosquitoes carry?
Common types of mosquito-borne illnesses include dengue, malaria, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika, according to the World Mosquito Program.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits illnesses including dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya, while the Culex quinquefasciatus variety of mosquito, Debug's newest target, can carry West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Google plans to release millions of sterile mosquitoes in Florida
