Welcome to our Tech Roundup, where we bring you the biggest stories in technology and innovation in Brazil and Latin America. This week: A device that mimics a human could be the perfect weapon to eliminate dengue mosquitoes.
From Ukraine to Brazil: Another (smarter) way to fight dengue mosquitoes
A woman-led Ukrainian startup has come up with a new way to fight mosquitoes, the primary vectors of several tropical diseases: a chemical-free trap.
Why it matters. Brazil suffers from near-constant epidemics of mosquito-borne viruses, particularly dengue fever, a disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Such a device could be essential for the country to deal with what is unfortunately a growing problem.
- According to the latest data from the Health Ministry, dengue cases rose 17.5 percent this year, from 1.3 million to 1.6 million. Deaths from the disease increased from 999 to 1,053, the highest number since 2015.
- Extreme weather conditions caused by climate change and phenomena such as El Niño are complicating the fight against Aedes aegypti and other vectors. Brazil’s southern states experienced record flooding weeks ago; heavy rains and high temperatures create the perfect environment for mosquitoes to breed.
The idea. Anastasiia Romanova, founder and CEO of Mosqitter, the company that designed the pest-control solution, tells The Brazilian Report that a Zika virus outbreak in Florida was the first event that drew her attention to the problem.
- Working with entomologists, her team identified the four human characteristics that most attract mosquitoes: CO2 from breath, body heat signatures, UV light at a specific wavelength emitted by mammals, and human scent. They were able to...
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