Experts from Stockholm University have found a simple and safe method to kill mosquitoes that transmit malaria.
In December, the World Health Organization reported 241 million malaria cases in 2020, up from 219 million in 2019, with 627 deaths. 000 percent of these cases were in Africa. 96 percent of deaths occurred in children under the age of five.
The standard way to deal with these dangerous carriers of the disease is through the use of insecticides. But there is already evidence that pesticides are becoming less effective. Nearly 80 countries told WHO that mosquitoes were resistant to at least one of four commonly used substances between 2010 and 2019.
Every day, researchers in a laboratory at Stockholm University feed malaria mosquitoes with beet juice mixed with deadly toxins as part of an ambitious plan to fight malaria. The HMBPP molecule has also been added to beet juice. "If we add this molecule to any other solution, it tastes great for mosquitoes," says Emami, a biologist at Stockholm University.
They even started a company with the goal of turning their discovery into a commercially viable alternative to pesticides currently used to kill mosquitoes, but with the potential to harm people and the environment.