A Swedish company has devised a trick to eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes, and reduce the spread of malaria in countries that suffer from it and it spreads.
Scientists from the company “Molecular Attraction” invented a poisoned juice that partially contains what is known as “HMBPP”, which is found in the blood infected with the malaria parasite.
Scientists used HMBPP specifically because it has a scent that attracts mosquitoes, stimulating them to drink more blood, and even drink almost anything, as long as the pH is correct.
In their tests, which they presented in a study published in the journal Communications Biology on October 7, the researchers lure mosquitoes with a potent mixture of beet juice mixed with HMBPP and phytotoxins. The result is that the stingers were happily feeding on the fake blood. They all died soon after.
The Swedish company also confirmed that “HMBPP” also has the advantage that it does not attract other insects or other species, so you can use it as a passive way to convince mosquitoes to eat poison.
“At present, the biggest problem in mosquito control is the task of luring them into traps, but this unique formulation is exclusively attractive to the five species of Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the exclusive vectors of malaria infection,” it said in a statement on its website.
The Swedish company emphasized that it is keen to market its insect killer and is determined to be “accessible and affordable for all” in order to help countries under attack by mosquitoes and malaria.
The Swedish company’s study was published just one day after the World Health Organization approved the world’s first malaria vaccine.