Already the Zika virus has made it to 21 countries in the Americas and is “spreading explosively,” according to the World Health Organization.

This virus is not new. It first appeared in the 1940s in Uganda. But because this is the first major Zika outbreak, no vaccines or cures are available.

And so governments have no way to combat it outside of the normal mosquito prevention tactics: fumigate areas, distribute mosquito nets, advise people to use bug spray, get rid of stagnant pools of water, etc.

Now they’re adding another prevention tactic to their arsenal: genetically modified mosquitos.

A British research company, Oxitec, will soon be unveiling its modified versions of the Aedes aegypti mosquito--the bug that carries Zika (and dengue, malaria, etc.)--in more parts of Brazil.

Researchers have altered a male version of the mosquito to thwart its reproductive ability. 90% of larvae made with GMO males die before they reach adulthood. Because mosquitoes have short life spans, an entire population can be affected relatively quickly.

Originally, Oxitec set out to eliminate Dengue, but quickly shifted priorities once Zika hit the scene.

The company has completed trials in Piracicaba, Brazil, where the GMO mosquitoes reduced the overall Aedes population by 82%.

Oxitec will likely be opening a mosquito facility in the city to supply projects across Brazil.

This could significantly reduce the threat of Zika. Since Brazil will be hosting the Olympics this summer, it seems probable that the government will greenlight dozens of trials.

Worried about Zika? Time to call the @Oxitec mutant mosquitoes for help! https://t.co/XVcTNBenwGpic.twitter.com/QL6ZDAc4FW

— Alanna Petroff (@AlannaPetroff) January 27, 2016

Other researchers are busy trying to design mosquitoes that will no longer even be able to carry diseases.

But the idea of bioengineered mosquitoes freaks some people out--what happens if the mosquitoes mutate in dangerous ways? Or stronger mosquitoes are born as a result?

Or what happens if the modified bugs interact with ecosystems in unexpected and (negatively) disruptive ways?

These are legitimate concerns, especially when new trials are rolled out in real life versus in a controlled lab environment.

But the risks are hypothetical--they have not occurred in actual, real life trials that have been going for years. The dysfunctional mating ability of the bugs has not caused any larger harm than disrupting the breeding of the intended mosquitoes.

Some risks in this scenario are very real, and they have nothing to do with bioengineering--the threat of bug-borne disease.

If a new tactic can be rolled out to greatly diminish an urgent health threat, it seems like it should be used.

(To explore more future uses of gene-editing check out this piece.)