‘Genetically modified mosquitoes that have been released in Brazil, and may soon be released in Florida to combat the Zika virus, have the potential to directly inject modified DNA into any humans they bite.

The lab-bred GM Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, according to Oxitec – the biotech company that breeds them – are genetically programed to mate with wild females and transfer a gene that is fatal to any offspring.

But critics of the technique say too little is known about the potential for long-term environmental damage, as well as how humans will react to the injection of the gene if they are bitten by a GM Aedes aegypti mosquito.’

Read more: Experts say GM mosquitoes could transmit modified DNA to humans