Targeted insecticides could reduce malaria
Using insecticides indiscriminately can cause mosquitoes to built up a resistance to the insecticides creating a never ending race to engineer new insecticides. By changing the approach and creating insecticides that only target older mosquitoes the pressure to reproduce is reduced and the chances of building a resistance are greatly reduced.
Published: 2009
Author(s): Andrew F. Read, Penelope A. Lynch, & Matthew B. Thomas
Title: How to make evolution-proof insecticides for Malaria control
Journal: PLoS Biology
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000058
Female mosquito taking a blood meal from a human host. Photo: James Gathany / Public Health Image Library
Approximately a million people die every year from malaria which is transmitted by older mosquitoes. By creating an insecticide that can kill the older mosquitoes before they become contagious with the malaria virus, this one time investment in an insecticide could see long term preventative results.
