Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 24, 31-007, Kraków, Poland.
Malar J. 2024 Jun 19;23(1):192. doi: 10.1186/s12936-024-04996-x.
Elimination of malaria has become a United Nations member states target: Target 3.3 of the sustainable development goal no. 3 (SDG3). Despite the measures taken, the attainment of this goal is jeopardized by an alarming trend of increasing malaria case incidence. Globally, there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases in 2020 in 85 malaria-endemic countries, increasing from 227 million in 2019. Malaria case incidence was 59, which means effectively no changes in the numbers occurred, compared with the baseline 2015. Jennifer Doudna-co-inventor of CRISPR/Cas9 technology-claims that CRISPR holds the potential to lessen or even eradicate problems lying in the centre of SDGs. On the same note, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mosquito-targeting gene drives (MGD) are perceived as a potential means to turn this trend back and put momentum into the malaria elimination effort. This paper assessed two of the critical elements of the World Health Organization Genetically modified mosquitoes (WHO GMM) Critical Pathway framework: the community and stakeholders' engagement (inability to employ widely used frameworks, segmentation of the public, 'bystander' status, and guidelines operationalization) and the regulatory landscape (lex generali, 'goldilocks dilemma', and mode of regulation) concerning mosquito-oriented gene drives (MGD) advances. Based on the assessment findings, the author believes that CRISPR/Cas-9-mediated MGD will not contribute to the attainment of SDG3 (Target 3.3), despite the undisputable technology's potential. This research pertains to the state of knowledge, legal frameworks, and legislature, as of November 2022.
可持续发展目标第 3 项(SDG3)目标 3.3。尽管已经采取了措施,但由于疟疾病例发病率上升的惊人趋势,这一目标的实现受到了威胁。全球 2020 年在 85 个疟疾流行国家估计有 2.41 亿疟疾病例,比 2019 年的 2.27 亿有所增加。疟疾发病率为 59,这意味着与 2015 年的基准相比,疟疾病例数量实际上没有变化。CRISPR/Cas9 技术的共同发明者詹妮弗·杜德娜(Jennifer Doudna)声称,CRISPR 有可能减轻甚至消除 SDG 核心存在的问题。同样,CRISPR/Cas9 介导的蚊子靶向基因驱动(MGD)被认为是扭转这一趋势并为消除疟疾工作注入动力的一种潜在手段。本文评估了世界卫生组织基因改造蚊子(WHO GMM)关键路径框架的两个关键要素:社区和利益相关者的参与(无法采用广泛使用的框架、公众的分割、“旁观者”地位和指南的实施)和监管格局(lex generali、“金发姑娘困境”和监管模式)与蚊子定向基因驱动(MGD)的进展。基于评估结果,作者认为,尽管这项技术具有无可争议的潜力,但 CRISPR/Cas-9 介导的 MGD 不会有助于实现 SDG3(目标 3.3)。本研究涉及截至 2022 年 11 月的知识状况、法律框架和立法。