Gli Stati Uniti hanno dato il via libera al rilascio nell'ambiente di zanzare "killer" per contrastare la diffusione della zanzara tigre, portatrice di malattie come dengue, zika e febbre gialla. Sono maschi, di per sé non pericolosi perché non pungono, che sono stati infettati con il batterio Wolbachia pipiensis che, dopo l'accoppiamento, impedisce alle uova di schiudersi.
La notizia è stata resa nota dal sito della rivista Nature. La decisione, che l'EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, Agenzia per la protezione dell'ambiente) non ha ancora annunciato formalmente, scrive la rivista, consente alla società che produce gli insetti, la MosquitoMate, con sede a Lexington nel Kentucky, di liberare le zanzare killer in 20 Stati americani e a Washington DC.
In Brasile, invece per combattere la zanzara che diffonde il virus zika, è stata fatta una scelta diversa: sono state usate le zanzare geneticamente modificate.
ATS/M. Ang.
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