By Maore Ithula After discovering a trap that might deal a major blow to the existence of Anopheles gambiae, the species of mosquito that transmits malaria disease, the scientist says the snare faces a few hurdles, which must be cleared before it is available to all. Dr Richard Mukabana, the lead scientist of the new research says although the prototype snare is thoroughly effective on trial tests, it is not cost-effective. To start with, he says, one needs a quarter of a kilogramme of sugar and 17.5 grams of bakers yeast to produce about 130 millilitres of carbon dioxide per minutes throughout the night. Bruno Otieno, a research assistant at ICIPE’s Mbita Point Station sets up the mosquito trap containing the new bait outside a hut in Lwanda village.
The set up, it is estimated, costs about six dollars (Sh 480). And for effective outdoor trapping of the insects, Mukabana says, one needs at least two traps every 20 meters.
This means a family in the rural areas would need at least three traps every night to keep the vectors away. This translates to nearly Sh1,500, an amount that is sufficient to buy foodstuffs to keep a family for a week or two.
Says the researcher: "I would say we have made some breakthrough. However more research needs to be conducted to develop a cheaper bait."
One of the options that the researcher is toying with at the moment, is substituting sugar with molasses. He reckons that 20 litres of molasses goes for only Sh250. "We are working on this alternative to establish whether molasses can substitute sugar in this scheme," says the scientist.
The other drawback that the researcher is struggling to overcome is getting a user-friendly trap to go with his invention. Currently the researcher is using the Mosquito Magnet as a trap, a contrivance that he claims has never been tested in Africa since it was developed by the now defunct American Bio-Physics Co-operation which winded up two years ago.