Malaria, Species Value Ethics, and the Genetic Extermination of Mosquitoes: An Evaluation of Gene-Drive Extinction as a Solution to Mosquito-borne Illness

Abstract

Background: Malaria is a parasitic infection that spreads through mosquitoes. Recent advances in genetic engineering have created an opportunity to eliminate malaria in humans by driving mosquitoes to extinction.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the practical and ethical dimensions of this proposed artificial extinction, and serve as a primer for future discourse on the topic.

Design and Method: The research method is based on current literature and synthesis of an ongoing exploration of bioethics and associated fields. This research includes a dive into the primary fields of bioethical argument (Virtue Ethics, Deontology, and Consequentialism). The practical impacts of the proposed extinction on global ecology are also analyzed. The research question is: What are the projected consequences of inducing extinction in mosquitos through gene-drive as a method to control the spread of malaria, and are the human benefits worth the ethical precedent and environmental damage that could result from intentionally driving these insects to extinction?

Results: This author's analysis of ethical theory deems the repercussions of mosquito extinction to be too severe, unsupported by ethics or science.

Conclusions: Driving mosquitoes to extinction, while an effective means of combating malaria, is not a viable long-term solution, as it stands to create new environmental issues and requires too great a compromise of environmental and biological ethics.

Keywords: malaria, mosquitoes, gene-drive, bioethics, extinction, existence value