Aedes aegypt is a genetically modified mosquito designed to reduce the population of insects that are a carrier of infectious diseases. In an early phase of the test, 5 million mosquitoes were modified in 7 months. Only male mosquitoes were modified as they do not bite and pass on the genes to female offspring that cause them to die before the reproductive stage. 

The study was aimed to investigate the mating pattern of the modified male mosquitoes with their wild female counterpart and to determine if the female wild offspring will die before reproduction. Based on the early phase results provided by the biotech company Oxitec, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the projects in Florida and California. Oxitec’s CEO stated that the project was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of technology in different climate settings. 

The original species of these mutated mosquitoes are known as a carrier of dengue, Zika, yellow fever, chikungunya, etc. However, further tests are required to test the effectiveness and safety profile of the engineered mosquito as they have not shown significant results in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Also, the CDC stated that releasing these modified species will not reduce the need for pesticides, as most of the mosquitoes in the US belong to different species.