3 ms·
Why are the mosquitoes reintroduced? Wouldn't there always be the risk of parasite reinfecting the stock?
by cuteboy19 4y ago
Why are the mosquitoes reintroduced? Wouldn't there always be the risk of parasite reinfecting the stock?
- hoseja 4y agoThey are ecologically significant, sadly. Things feed on their larvae, etc.
- Jedd 4y agoI'm happy to defer to hoseja's assertion they are ecologically significant - I've read varying claims around there, but the precautionary principle is sufficient to warrant maintaining a pristine breeding stock long term, just in case. With malaria, I believe there's a tiny handful, 3 or 4 perhaps, of species of mosquito that carry it, and removing those species from environments where other species of mosquito exist is thought to be low-risk in terms of unintended consequences. The fallback breeding stock is just another thing we can do to provide assurance that we're not about to accidentally trigger the end of the world.