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battle

GM mosquito trial will not significantly impact environment-FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that a field trial testing Intrexon Corp's genetically engineered mosquitoes, meant to be used in the battle against Zika, would not have a significant impact on the environment. The company wants to conduct a trial in the Florida Keys to assess the effectiveness of the genetically modified mosquitoes in reducing populations of Aedes mosquitoes, which can spread diseases including Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. Florida began aerial spraying on Thursday to kill mosquitoes in a Miami neighborhood with the first U.S. spread of the Zika virus.

Brazil enlists army, cabinet in campaign against Zika

By Silvio Cascione BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil's government launched a nationwide campaign on Saturday to fight the Zika virus, with President Dilma Rousseff and cabinet ministers personally visiting homes and handing out leaflets along with 220,000 troops. Under a scorching sun in the neighborhood of Zepellin in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, which will host the Olympic Games in August, Rousseff said everyone needed to take part in the battle against the mosquito carrying Zika, suspected of causing the birth defect microcephaly. “Brazil and the world have lost the battle against dengue, but we won the war against yellow fever, which is carried by the same mosquito.