Genetically modified mosquitos released in US not tied to Gates, malaria cases | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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Mosquitoes: Another tiny terror, the mosquito is ubiquitous in Florida. While the insects’ bites alone are just itchy and annoying, mosquitoes can transmit potentially fatal illnesses like West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus, or EEEV.
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The claim: Bill Gates released genetically modified mosquitos in the US

A June 28 Instagram video shows a woman speaking in front of a screenshot of an article published by a website called American Faith.

"Bill Gates Develops Malaria Drugs, Then Releases Genetically Modified Mosquitoes into the U.S. – Now Texas and Florida Are Detecting the Disease, Gates-Funded CDC Is Recommending Those Drugs," reads the article's headline.

The woman then discusses the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's funding for malaria research and a grant it provided to a company called Oxitec.

The post garnered more than 18,000 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Our rating: False

While the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided funding to the company Oxitec for "mosquito field trials" in September 2020, none of those funds were used to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the U.S. The mosquitoes released by the company in April 2021 were incapable of carrying or spreading malaria.

Gates didn't fund US mosquito releases

British biotechnology company Oxitec released thousands of genetically modified mosquitos in the Florida Keys in 2021 to try to combat the spread of diseases like dengue fever.

Months prior to this, the Gates Foundation – funded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates – provided $1.3 million to the company for "mosquito field trials."

Fact check: Video shows aphid, not genetically modified mosquito stamped with number

But Joshua Van Raalte, a spokesperson for Oxitec, told USA TODAY none of the company's U.S.-based work, including its mosquito release, is funded by the Gates Foundation.

A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation, who declined to be named, also told USA TODAY the claim is false.

"The foundation does not fund any work involving mosquito release in the United States," the spokesperson said in an email.

The Gates Foundation has previously provided hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for research and development of a malaria vaccine.

No link between US malaria cases and Bill Gates, or Oxitec

The post in question also implies a connection between Oxitec, Gates and the five cases of malaria detected in Florida and Texas in May and June, the first time in 20 years that local cases have been observed.

However, this has no connection to Oxitec, Gates or work the two have done together.

Van Raalte said the mosquitos released by the company couldn't possibly be responsible for the recent spread of malaria.

"Oxitec's work in Florida is with the Aedes aegypti – a mosquito species which carries dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever and yellow fever – not malaria," Van Raalte said in an email. "Malaria is transmitted through infected Anopheles mosquitoes. There is no interbreeding between species. And, Oxitec mosquitoes are 100% male, meaning they do not carry diseases nor do they bite humans. So, it is scientifically impossible that there is any relationship between Oxitec's work and the malaria cases."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website that infected Anopheles mosquitos are the only type of mosquito that can spread malaria.

Van Raalte also told USA TODAY that Oxitec only released mosquitos in the Florida Keys, which is more than 200 miles away from where malaria cases were detected in Sarasota County, Florida.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment, and they referred a reporter to the American Faith article.

The claim has also been debunked by the Associated Press and Lead Stories.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gates donations used for mosquito research outside US | Fact check