Cases of individuals contracting dengue through contact with mosquitoes has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades, with the World Health Organization documenting a high of 5.2 million cases in 2019, up from 505,430 cases in 2000. Recent social media posts claim Bill Gates is running a mosquito factory in Colombia and that he has released millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild. This is false. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a supporter of the World Mosquito Program, which says it uses a safe method that doesn't involve genetic modification to address mosquito-borne illnesses, including dengue, in areas across the planet.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a post on June 10 on Twitter, which is in the middle of rebranding to X, that shows part of a video about the work the World Mosquito Program is doing in Colombia. Kennedy's post has more than 24,000 retweets and the video in the post has been viewed more than 13 million times. In the post, Kennedy claims Gates is releasing 30 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild.
The video was shared in another on July 20 that has garnered nearly 1,700 views. In the post, the user claims that Bill Gates is running a mosquito factory in Colombia.
Rating: False
The video was originally posted on Gates's personal and , Gates Notes, in August 2022 for Mosquito Week.
It showcases the laboratory work World Mosquito Program is doing in Medellin, Colombia, to curb large-scale outbreaks of dengue.
The organization uses the to reduce the ability of mosquitoes to transmit viruses that cause life-threatening diseases. The program says mosquitoes with Wolbachia are not genetically modified because the genetic material of the mosquito is not altered.
The method works by introducing the bacteria into a specific breed of mosquitoes that is known for transmitting the dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses. These insects are then released into areas where these mosquito-borne viruses are endemic. The World Mosquito Program says when Wolbachia mosquitoes are released, they breed with wild mosquitoes until, over several generations, they replace the local mosquito population.
World Mosquito Program
The World Mosquito Program bills itself as a not-for-profit group of companies owned by , a public research university based in Melbourne, Australia, that works to protect the global community from mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya.
The group was formerly known as the Eliminate Dengue program before changing its name in 2017 to reflect how the Wolbachia method can prevent other mosquito-borne diseases.
Their method has been deployed in 13 countries across Asia, the Americas and Oceania. "It's effectiveness for dengue control has been demonstrated in multiple public health interventions," their website states.
The release of Wolbachia mosquitoes received regulatory approval from relevant government bodies. The program says it only releases mosquitoes with community endorsement.
The World Mosquito Program is funded through major grants, government departments and philanthropic supporters from around the world.
What is Wolbachia?
Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention six in 10 of all types of insects, including butterflies, bees and beetles, around the world have Wolbachia. The bacteria cannot make people or animals, such as fish, birds and household pets, sick.
The has determined that mosquitoes with Wolbachia are not likely to harm the environment.
The World Health Organization Vector Control Advisory Group in 2020 that the Wolbachia method "demonstrates public health value against dengue."
A peer-reviewed published in 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Wolbachia deployments reduced dengue incidence by 77 per cent and dengue hospitalizations by 86 per cent in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The World Mosquito Program conducted a case control study in northeastern Medellin that found dengue incidence was reduced by half among participants residing in Wolbachia-treated neighbourhoods compared with neighbourhoods where Wolbachia had not yet been released, information provided to ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥by the organization stated.
Bill Gates
Despite claims Gates is running mosquito breeding factory, the American business magnate and philanthropist is not in fact heading the World Mosquito Program's facilities.
The program is a grantee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through Monash University.
A representative for the foundation said it supports the university's efforts to "protect local communities from mosquito-borne diseases and to develop innovative approaches to vector control around the world."
The foundation has committed $60 million to Monash University since 2009 to support an "array of global health efforts, including the World Mosquito Program," the representative added.
Canada's stance
Health Canada says it has not received any applications to release genetically engineered insects or insects infected with Wolbachia into the country.
Any request to do so would have to follow the requirements under the Pest Control Products Act. A company would need to demonstrate there are no unacceptable health or environmental risks associated with the release of the insects, and that the product would be effective at controlling the insect-borne disease, a spokesperson said in an email.
Sources
Social media claims found (, ) and ()
The Mosquito Factory video found () and ()
The Wolbachia method found ()
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