OXON: The Cayman Islands are set to fight disease-spreading mosquitoes using a technique development by Oxfordshire scientists.
The government in Grand Cayman will use "malfunctioning mosquitoes" genetically engineered by Milton Park firm Oxitec to suppress populations of Aedes aegypti, the dangerous mosquito that spreads dengue, Zika and chikungunya.
The programme follows a successful trial of Oxitec's mosquito in Cayman Islands that reduced Aedes aegypti populations by by 96 per cent.
The malfunctioning male mosquitoes mate with wild females but the offspring are infertile, meaning they cannot reproduce.
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