Combating Zika virus using Mosquito Egg Stopper Kit
It's the best user-friendly tool to stop mosquito eggs.
It's the best and simple way to stop the spread of mosquitoes
A new study found this cheap, easy system significantly reduced virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes Mosquito Egg Stopper Kit (MESK) is a simple mosquito trap fashioned from old tires spells doom for mosquito eggs. So effective is the cheap eco-friendly system. During our research our team collected and destroyed over 15,000 Aedes mosquito eggs per month, almost seven times the eggs collected compared to standard traps. The Aedes genus of mosquitoes is primarily responsible for transmitting a host of vexing viruses, including Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Aedes is notoriously tough to control, according to the World Health Organization. Pesticide-resistance, lack of resources, and a boost in mosquito-friendly environments have hindered traditional methods of controlling the pest's quick spread. The MESK is made of two 20-inch sections of old car tire secured together in the form of a mouth, with a fluid release valve at the bottom. Pheromone - a milky mosquito-luring non-toxic solution is poured in the bottom. The pheromone tells female mosquitoes that it’s a safe place to lay eggs. The mosquitoes enter, lay eggs on a paper or wooden strip that is floating in the “pond” … twice a week the little egg raft is removed, the eggs destroyed, and the solution drained and filtered before being reused in the trap again. We chose to use recycled tires – partly because tires already represent up to 29 percent of the breeding sites chosen by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, partly because tires are a universally affordable instrument in low-resource settings, and partly because giving old tires a new use creates an opportunity to clean up the local environment. However, using MESK is less expensive than killing larvae in natural ponds and only 20 percent the cost of targeting adult insects with pesticides, which also hurt bats, dragonflies and mosquitoes' other natural predators. It has capacity to attract female mosquitoes within 20 meters radius. As far as we can tell, there is nothing not to love about this. We have shown people in our communities how to create their own Mosquito Egg Stopper Kit. We are currently going online to with how-to video to spread the message of Zika virus. The tool can be used in homes, schools and workplaces. It can be situated in strategic places within vicinity.
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CommentChristi O'Neill
Anietie Akpan
Anietie Akpan
Anietie Akpan