YOSEF SCHLEIN: “In Mali, we got down by some eighty percent, the females, and ninety percent of the males. But the area is full of little ponds in there, so it is impossible to stop mosquitoes from flying from an untreated pond to a treated pond.”
At the ponds treated only with sweet-smelling bait, Professor Schlein says, more than seventy five percent of mosquitoes fed on the false bait. He says most people do not know that female mosquitoes feed on sweet plant nectars to survive. Their blood feedings are part of reproduction.
The Israeli researchers now hope to develop a bait that is even more desirable to the malaria mosquitoes.
Boric acid is generally safe for human beings and other mammals. Professor Schlein says scientists might be able to develop a mosquito bait for enclosed spaces. Boric acid has been used to kill other insects included cockroaches, termites and ants inside homes since the middle of last century.
A report about the malaria mosquito sweet bait was published in Malaria Journal.
And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report. You can find this report and more health news at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I’m Mario Ritter.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25