We came across a post on X that contains a part of a video that appears to be from a CNN news broadcast reporting that health officials have issued a warning to those living in Alabama and New York in the United States (US) to avoid mosquitoes due to a rare mosquito-borne virus that could spread from mosquito bites and potentially kill.

The X post states “It looks like Bill Gate’s genetically modified mosquitoes are working as intended…”, insinuating that the mosquitoes responsible for the virus are genetically modified mosquitoes associated in some way with Bill Gates.

Is there a rare mosquito-borne virus?

Although the video on X does not contain the name of the rare virus, it highlights that most people who have been bitten by mosquitoes that spread the rare virus will not exhibit any symptoms. However, there may be severe cases where people exhibit symptoms such as high fever, chills, and vomiting which could then progress to seizures and coma.

According to the video, there are no vaccines against or specific medications to treat the virus and it has already killed at least 1 person in Alabama.

While we were unable to locate the exact news video, we were able to find several news reports, including 1 by CNN dated 22 August 2023 with similar information on a rare virus called Eastern equine encephalitis(EEE), which spreads through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

Similar to the information stated in the video, the reports echoed that while most people bitten by an infected mosquito will not develop any symptoms, severe reactions are possible. The CNN report also cautioned that as there are no vaccines against or specific medications to treat the virus, the best form of prevention against the virus is to avoid mosquito bites.

Bill Gates and genetically modified mosquitoes

While there was no mention of Bill Gates or genetically modified mosquitoes in the video or the CNN report itself, we attempted to identify any potential links between the genetically modified mosquitoes and Bill Gates.

Genetically modified mosquitoes have been bred by a biotech company called Oxitec, which is UK-based but US-owned. It is reportedly the only company in the US that releases genetically modified mosquitoes.

Although the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded Oxitec’s projects in other countries, a spokesperson from the foundation stated that it did not fund any projects involving mosquito releases in the US.

Hence, there appears to be no direct link between Bill Gates and the genetically modified mosquitoes released in the US.

 

Did genetically modified mosquitoes cause the EEE virus?

Through releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in the US, Oxitec intends to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika and Dengue fever.

As only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals to obtain blood and transmit viruses, Oxitec releases genetically modified male mosquitoes to mate with female mosquitoes, pass on a genetic change, and cause any female offspring unable to survive. Through this process, Oxitec aims to limit the population of mosquitoes that spread diseases.

It is incorrect to blame the spread of the EEE virus or any mosquito-borne virus on the genetically modified mosquitoes released in the US as these are male mosquitoes that do not bite humans and therefore are unable to transmit diseases to humans.

Hence, it is false that the spread of the EEE virus was due to genetically modified mosquitoes that are connected to Bill Gates.

Similar claims that rare malaria cases in the US were caused by genetically modified mosquitoes released by an initiative funded by Bill Gates and that a video taken in Florida shows a helicopter releasing genetically modified mosquitoes that are part of an initiative backed by Bill Gates have been fact-checked and found to be false as well.