Innovative methodology proposed to beat dengue
Disna Mudalige
A Sri Lankan inventor proposed an innovative methodology to control
the dengue epidemic effectively.
This cost-effective methodology can be implemented under two phases,
and its results can be obtained in three weeks, inventor and Signati (Pvt)
Ltd CEO Basil de Silva said. The main idea behind this methodology is to
prevent all contacts by mosquitoes with dengue patients, so that the
transmission of the disease from a dengue patient to another human can
be stopped.
He said this is much less difficult to achieve than trying to
eliminate all mosquitoes along with those carrying virus.
De Silva said dengue patients should be identified at the earliest
possible stage and isolated from mosquitoes with repellents, nets,
proper clothing etc until they are fully recovered (Approximately 21
days).
He was confident if this phase was successfully implemented the
number of dengue cases would begin to dwindle.
De Silva also proposed a phase two in which a trap designed by him is
introduced to isolate mosquito breeding. The proposed device is meant to
trap mosquito eggs, larvae and pupae, preventing mosquitoes escaping to
open space.
He said it is aimed at eliminating or reducing the number of
mosquitoes.
This device is made of eight or seven sheets of glass glued together
in a design which enables mosquito eggs to slide on the inclined piece
of glass sheet through a small opening to the bottom of the device. When
the eggs develop into larvae and pupae their size will be too big for
them to escape.
The adult mosquito will be prevented from escaping into the open, he
said.
De Silva said fumigation and spraying insecticide would not
completely destroy the mosquito population nor eradicate mosquito
breeding places.
“Any surviving mosquito will invariably produce a new breed with a
greater ability to survive and to cause greater harm to their victims.
Then the situation becomes more challenging in the next stage,” he said. |