The PROVECTOR will be designed to last about a year before its artificial petals need to be replaced. The product's lifespan will depend upon the mosquito population in a particular area and the amount of chemicals that they ingest.
Another dangerous mosquito-borne disease that Kollars hopes to stop is dengue fever, a disease in tropical areas that can cause headache, rash, achy joints and, in some cases—mostly in very young children—can be fatal if the victim goes into shock. "Our goal is also to develop the technology," Kollars says, "and then transfer that knowledge to help developing countries so they can produce them."
MIT Holding says it will cost about $3.7 million to conduct the next round of product development and testing, which will include trying out PROVECTOR on mosquitoes in rural Georgia come spring and in the Florida Everglades next summer. "We hope to have received some funding by next fall for overseas trials," Kollars adds. He says his team is testing four different prototypes of PROVECTOR to come up with the most effective mix of color and chemicals—not to mention, disposable petals that are biodegradable.
"PROVECTOR alone isn't the answer," Kollars acknowledges, "but it will interdict at a different stage than other treatments for malaria and other diseases. I've seen kids dying of malaria; it behooves those of us who can do something to do something."
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7 Comments
Add Commenti don'l think that mosquitoes perform important functions such as pollinating flowers ! no sutch a thing
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisregards
Won't this treatment only increase drug resistant strains of the virus, thereby increasing human risk of highly pathogenic infection?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for your interest in the story.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegarding the first comment, the goal is to kill the virus or parasite within the mosquito, before it can become a disease (malaria, dengue, etc.). I'm not sure if this could lead to drug resistant strains of the virus or the parasites, but it's my understanding that Dr. Kollars is keeping an eye on this.
Regarding the second comment. I've read a lot of literature claiming mosquitoes serve no purpose (other than to spread misery at outdoor events). However, consider that if mosquitoes are feeding on the sugar in a particular flower and then move to feed on the sugar of another flower, they are likely (even inadvertently) carrying pollen with them.
How about going one step further, and giving active desease preventers and vacinations to mosuitos and allow them to "vacinate" humans ?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt doesn't seem like a feasible solution. Considering the flower to mosquitoes ratio, it might need more flowers than we can feasible produce.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt doesn't seem like a feasible solution. Considering the flower to mosquitoes ratio, it might need more flowers than we can feasible produce.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this@Kurtislee
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat sounds like a pretty neat idea, but changes like this are best served simple, cheap, and not affecting the current infrastructure too much.