Millions of mutant mosquitoes engineered to combat Zika virus could be unleashed on Brazil in bid to wipe out terrifying disease
Zika, which has no known cure, has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, characterised by an abnormally small head
A LAB in Brazil could produce 60 million genetically-modified mosquitoes a week which could protect up to 3 million people from the Zika virus.
The 5,000-square metre facility in Sao Paulo state, designed by Intrexon subsidiary Oxitec, will create Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have been genetically altered so their offspring die before they can reproduce.
This will combat the terrifying pace that the Zika virus and dengue are spreading.
Zika, which has no known cure, has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, characterised by an abnormally small head.
Since it was detected for the first time in the Americas in Brazil last year, Zika has swept through South and Central America, the Caribbean and made its way north to the United States.
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Oxitec said that ongoing trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have shown that its genetically-modified mosquitoes - dubbed Friendly Aedes - can reduce localised Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90 per cent.
Oxitec Chief Executive Officer Hadyn Parry: "We want to make our Friendly Aedes available to the maximum number of countries possible."
Oxitec's director in Brazil, Glen Slade, said the new facility took only five months to create and could quickly be reproduced elsewhere.
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