In the Florida Keys on Election Day, along with the Presidential race, one of the most controversial items on the ballot dealt with Zika. In a non-binding vote countywide, residents in the Florida Keys approved a measure allowing a British company to begin a trial release of genetically-modified mosquitoes. Armed with that approval, local officials voted Saturday to try out what they hope will be a new tool in the fight against Zika.
For months now, state and local authorities in Florida have struggled to control the spread of Zika. But although there have been more than 200 cases of locally-transmitted Zika statewide, none have been reported in the Keys. And that's one reason why residents like Megan Hall oppose the new technology. At a meeting of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board in Marathon, Saturday, Hall made a personal appeal to the Board. "I am going to ask you, beg you, plead with you," she said, "not to go forward with this."
