Efficient innovation for fighting deadly diseases made out of used tires
In 2015, Brazil was hit by the Zika virus and it slowly spread throughout South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean infecting millions. The common symptoms of Zika virus are fever, dengue, mild headaches, malaise, conjunctivitis, joint pains and rashes. Some reports link the Zika virus outbreak to microcephaly (small head) in infants and Guillain-Barré syndrome (autoimmune disease) in adults. It is primarily spread by the female mosquito Aedes aegypti in order to lay eggs. The virus is present in the mosquito’s saliva which further infects humans. Currently no effective medicinal treatment or vaccine is known. Prevention from exposure to the disease carrying mosquito is the only effective solution.
An eco-friendly and cost effective device for destroying eggs of the mosquito genus that spreads dengue and Zika virus has been identified by a team of innovators from Canada and Mexico. The device, called Ovillanta, consist of 50 cm sections of an old car tire tied into a mouth-like shape. The lower tire cavity is filled with a milk-based, non-toxic solution developed at Sudbury’s Laurentian University. Inside the solution, a wooden strip or paper is kept on which the mosquitoes lays egg. The female mosquitoes release pheromones in the water while laying eggs; this further sends the signal of a safe breeding place to other mosquitoes. The eggs are later destroyed by fire or ethanol. To facilitate drainage of used water, a release valve is installed in the bottom section. The used water is filtered and the larvae are destroyed. The same filtered water is reused as it functions as a lure for the other mosquitoes due to the increased concentration of the pheromone. The device simply exploits the fact that female mosquitoes prefer to lay eggs in old tires with stagnant cold water.
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The 10 month long study at Guatemala saw a high success rate as the team installed 84 Ovillantas in seven neighbourhoods and collected 18,100
The efficiency of the device can also be measured by reduction in number of dengue cases in the test area during the trial period. The whole system is supported by an online training programme. The module involves instructions for local health workers on mosquito control and a community engagement strategy that teaches households in the art of regular maintenance of their ovillanta. The eggs collected by community workers are passed to health workers who monitor and destroy them using fire or ethanol.
The research is led by Dr. Gerardo Ulibarri of Ontario’s Laurentian University, with Angel Betanzos and Mireya Betanzos of the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico. The project is funded by the Government of Canada with a grant from Grand Challenges Canada.
A female mosquito with a lifespan of three months starts to reproduce in one week and becomes a potential source of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The control of the mosquito at an earlier stage diminishes the spread of the deadly diseases. Ovillanta is a simple stable and low cost mosquito population control system. If coupled with proper people participation and training, it can make disease control simpler and possibly save many lives.