British mathematicians are working on an innovative and cost-effective mosquito trap that could prevent mosquitoes' eggs from hatching, reducing cases of dengue fever and potentially saving thousands of lives.
The researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are modelling the impact of the new kind of mosquito trap, the university said in a statement today.
Cases of the mosquito-borne disease have grown dramatically around the world in recent decades as a result of population growth, unplanned urbanisation and climate change.
Despite significant investment, in affected countries, a life is lost to dengue in every 25 minutes.
The new technology attracts Aedes mosquitoes to a special solution which prevents 100 per cent of their eggs from hatching in the mosquito traps, or when laid anywhere else.
This provides an alternative to the 'seek and destroy' and pest-control method of spraying pesticides, which is labour- intensive, damaging to the environment, destroys biological predators and helps mosquitoes become more resistant.
The project is funded by the Newton Ungku-Omar Fund and the High Impact Programme 2, Malaysia, and is a collaboration between the university, the Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur and a Kuala Lumpur-based One Team Network Solutions (OTNS) which designs practical and low-tech innovative solutions for pest control.
Dr David Greenhalgh of the University of Strathclyde's Department of Mathematics and Statistics, who is leading the project said, "Dengue is a huge problem for populations living in tropical climates".
"By applying modelling to the application of the trap, we can accurately predict how effective the traps are in different scenarios, at a fraction of time and cost, compared to what it would take to do full field tests," he said.
Researchers will develop models using existing data, which shows the positive impact of the trap on reducing dengue cases in the local vicinity, therefore enabling them to predict the required number and impact of traps over large areas.
Dr Koay Chew Aik, Malaysian project lead and Entomologist at product developer, OTNS said, "The Malaysian government spends more than 18 million pounds (USD 22 million) annually to combat dengue and to date, has not seen a significant decrease in the number of cases".
Dengue fever is a viral, flu-like illness which is spread by infected mosquitoes, most commonly the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It is estimated there are 390 million dengue infections each year, many of which occur in major urban centres with warm and humid climates.
According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 500,000 people with severe dengue require hospitalisation each year, a large proportion of whom are children. About 2.5 per cent of those affected die.
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