Google’s Debug programme is seeking federal approval to release up to 32 million non-biting mosquitoes in Florida and California in the fight against mosquito-borne diseases.
The tech giant has issued an application to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking approval to release up to 16 million male mosquitoes annually for two years.
The EPA is reviewing the permit request, which comes as health officials in California recently reported detecting West Nile virus in mosquito samples.
The Debug initiative aims to “stop bad bugs with good bugs”. For more than a decade, its scientists and engineers have been developing technology to mass-produce and release sterile male mosquitoes to eliminate disease-spreading mosquitos.
Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal, killing more people than any other creature every year by spreading disease. For instance, the Aedes aegypti species is responsible for carrying diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya. Billions...