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[Michaelangelica]

[Commons-Law] ICMR to patent mosquito trap
[ Mailinglist ] by commonslaw @ 09.06.2008 07:13 CEST
Via: "Prashant Iyengar"

The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : ICMR to patent mosquito trap Back



Tamil Nadu

ICMR to patent mosquito trap

S. Vijay Kumar

The new technology is expected to contain chikungunya and dengue

MADURAI: In what could be a significant breakthrough in containing the
incidence of chikungunya and dengue, the Centre for Research in
Medical Entomology (CRME), a premier laboratory of the Indian Council
of Medical Research here, has developed a new technology to trap
infected mosquitoes.

The 'OVI Trap' or simply the 'egg trapping device' is an indigenous
technology conceived and developed by a team of scientists led by
senior entomologist, B.K. Tyagi. After studying the breeding sites,
behaviour and vigour of chikungunya and dengue-transmitting
mosquitoes, the scientists designed the mechanical trap to seize
gravid (pregnant) mosquitoes.

"After successfully testing the device in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, we
have forwarded it to the ICMR for obtaining patent. After successful
patenting, the trap will be put to commercial use and made available
to the common man," Dr. Tyagi told The Hindu on Sunday.

The 'OVI Trap' would attract pregnant mosquitoes to lay eggs and
confine them to the enclosure. Each trap could contain a maximum 300
mosquitoes. "The trapped mosquitoes, if not cleared for scientific
investigation, will automatically die in confinement. Though such
traps are available, this is an improvised version that takes into
account the ecological system and targets particularly the 'Aedes
Albopictus' mosquitoes that spread dengue." The outbreak of these
infections has a direct correlation to the density of female
mosquitoes.

"By curbing the pregnant mosquitoes, we can minimise the mosquito
population. Each mosquito lays about 200 eggs…nearly 50 per cent of
the newborn are female mosquitoes again. It is like preventing the
next generation mosquitoes."

[Commons-Law] relay :: [Commons-Law] ICMR to patent mosquito trap

So do we live in hope that some sub-prime banker gets malearia or dengue or is that TOO mean?

Foreclosed Homes Becoming Breeding Ground for Mosquitoes, West Nile Virus
By MedHeadlines • Jun 8th, 2008 • Category: Events, Infectious Disease, Prevention

In the Greater Los Angeles area, where backyard swimming pools are common, the county’s Vector Control District is getting an alarming number of calls about the abundance of mosquitoes breeding in swimming pools abandoned to foreclosure. They’ve also seen a spike in cases of West Nile virus this year, although this is earlier than usual for the virus’s typical summertime appearance.

MedHeadlines - Foreclosed Homes Becoming Breeding Ground for Mosquitoes, West Nile Virus