We could kill all mosquitoes (but should we?)

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. Scientists have found a way to get rid of them by spreading a gene to wipe out mosquito populations. But is it a good idea?

Reporter: Louise Osborne
Video Editor: David Jacobi
Supervising Editor: Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann, Kiyo Dörrer & Joanna Gottschalk
Special thanks to: Wadzanayi Mandevenyi and Naima Sykes

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

#PlanetA #Malaria #Extinction

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Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:48 Why are mosquitoes dangerous?
02:26 The fight against mosquitoes
06:53 Concerns and cons
7:54 Stopping the spread
8:36 Impact on the ecosystem

[DWPlanetA]

Would you wipe out mosquitoes if you could?

[stanimirhristov]

its interesting to see people not affected by malaria to discuss malaria. i wonder if they would have a different opinion if they lived in a place with malaria and if they had lost close ones to malaria...

[WASDsweden]

We've already unintentionally caused thousands of species to go extinct. Now do mosquitoes please.

[ecomandurban]

The damage to the natural environment could not possibly come close to the damage at present controlling these mosquitoes with vast amounts of harmful pesticides that indiscriminately destroy vast numbers of non target insects and other creatures

[Tindog]

Many people often forget that of the 3500 varieties of mosquitoes, only about 7 bite humans. Plus they often make up a tiny portion of the populations in which they live so if we killed off all 7 species it's not necessarily going to cause a catastrophe because there are other species that can take their place. In fact, many that bite humans live in places they aren't even native to, for instance here on the American continent most of the species that spread disease here are non-native, so destroying their populations here would be equivalent to getting rid of an invasive species and therefore little if any negative effect to the natural environment. That said I think we could do trial runs like here in the Americas and see if they work as they are non-native and would actually restore native mosquito populations. In places where they are native, I think we should keep some unaltered in a lab as a backup in case we need to restore the population. But as far as we can tell, the species that bite humans aren't exactly necessary for environments and have very little nutritional value for species there, as they are often an end species on the energy pyramid. However, research should still be done, in case by mistake we end up finding out that like wolfs in Yellowstone these species have a really important place in the ecosystem. Another possibility is that we could modify these species to avoid biting humans. With the number of deaths these species cause I think we should treat them as a threat to ourselves. This wouldn't be the first time we nearly killed off species that are super destructive to humans, the Guinea worm for instance only lives on and eats humans, but is spread sometimes by dogs. This animal's diet is basically us, and as such we have felt very little remorse for destroying it, and its eradication doesn't seem to have any negative effect on the environment that we can observe. So due to the fact, that there are so many other species of mosquitoes, the loss of just the ones that bite us, may or may not play a huge role in the environment as a whole, caution in all things, but I say with so many human lives on the line, we should at least try and look at it as an option and not be so quick to dismiss it. Maybe even try to use it to save human lives.

[mecha-sheep]

Yes. Every single biting species. The 99, 8% of other species of non-biting mosquitoes are fine.

[Earth]

I think the gene modification to wipe out mosquitos is a brilliant idea. It's so pathetic that the guy who is campaigning against this to 'save genetic seeds', lives in the comfort of Europe. He should be try living in a tropical country, let alone in poor parts of Africa

[RoccosVideos]

I went to Iceland at the end of June, there aren’t any mosquitos there. It was wonderful.

[jiayao]

In Singapore, we put bacteria in male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and when they mate with female mosquito, they would not have any children, helping stop dengue and zika. So far it is effective, but dengue and Zika cases are still rising in Singapore.

[hazardousmaterials]

We eliminated the smallpox viruses and are on the doorstep of eliminating dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease). If eliminating cruel diseases helps humans live better lives, I’m all for it. Who knows… maybe some of the people saved will work hard at improving the environment, making this a positive for the ecosystem too.

[spjr]

Yes. We should. If Malaria was still a problem in the US, we would have done it years ago

[Yassified]

I would be ready to accept the consequences for the death of all mosquitos.

And as far as I know, mosquitos have a very limited impact of the food chain. Birds are the only main predator for them, but they only make up 2% of the diet.

[grahampalmer]

How about creating protected populations of these and other deadly creatures. Something like seed banks. If their annihilation in the wild causes catastrophic results then they can be reintroduced or alternative methods found to alleviate the negative consequences.

[BobbyButter]

Eliminate them. Consequences be damned.

[kevinrdunnphs]

Human lives are worth more than mosquitos, and this only wipes out 1/3500 species. While we sit and debate this, people are dying, it should be done, no doubt in my mind.

[osc]

I feel like this is a species we could stand to lose.

[Moss_knight]

Comment just to say that I love your channel! Keep up the great work!

[nithinn]

Something like this is needed, in test locations studying it for long years for the consequences. Only after understanding the bigger picture should it become global.

[syedasubrina]

I wait for every friday for your upload, thanks a bunch DW planet A team ❤️

[lakhdeepsingh]

Death to the mosquitoes !!! Pollination and other things, well... as Dr. Ian Malcolm so eloquently put..."Life ...finds a way".