The Mosquito Trap for Better Quality of Life in Community
THE MOSQUITO TRAP from SCG
Over the past few decades, dengue fever is one of the major global health threats that is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Global dengue incidence has increased dramatically, with an estimated 100-400 million infections each year (Source: WHO). In Thailand, the Department of Disease Control reported about 25,000 dengue fever cases with 15 deaths in 2020, a higher-than-usual mortality rate compared to the incidence number of dengue outbreaks over the past five years.
To tackle the problem, SCG has teamed up with France’s Institut Pasteur and the Department of Medical Sciences under the Ministry of Public Health to research and develop “The Mosquito Trap” to prevent the breeding of disease-carrying mosquitoes. The goal is to bring down dengue cases and strengthen public health and health services in communities in Thailand.
Striving to Create “Innovation for Society”
The dengue outbreak situation is among the most troubling public health threats. Currently, Thailand has recorded an average of about 100,000 dengue cases and more than 100 deaths per year. Developed as a joint effort between SCG and France’s Institut Pasteur, The Mosquito Trap will play a significant role in efficiently and sustainably curbing the disease-carrying mosquitoes’ population, a major cause of dengue fever infections.
Staff explains how The Mosquito Trap works.
The Mosquito Trap has two main components: A Mosquito Trap and an attractant-coated sponge inside the trap. SCG has designed The Mosquito Trap to mimic dengue mosquitos’ behavior and its preferable habitat with appropriate water level and space conducive mosquitoes’ egg-laying. The Mosquito Trap is made from plastic material designed with color, size, and holes to specifically attract mosquitoes to fly in and lay eggs in the trap. Coming in a compact size, the Mosquito Trap is easy to use, convenient, and complement for both outdoor and indoor settings. Besides, the sponge is coated with BTI, a biological larvicide developed by the Department of Medical Sciences under the Ministry of Public Health and Ikari Trading (Thailand) to enhance attracting performance to lure mosquitos into the trap.
The special attractant used in the coated sponge is a chemical additive or functional material that SCG developed from a widely used larvicide BTI (Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis), which can inhibit the growth of larvae before being hatched into a mosquito. The attractant is created to enhance the BTI’s adherence to the mosquitoes’ feet. The trap has this BTI-coated sponge inside. Once a mosquito flies and lands onto this sponge, its feet will be covered with larvicide, and when it flies out and lands in a new breeding site, this attractant will dissolve in water and help inhibit the growth of larva. The attractant doesn’t harm the environment or ecosystems of living things in the water site. Notably, this attractant can help eliminate larvae at a broader scale, resulting in a decrease in the mosquito population and dengue outbreak prevention.
Piloting for Scale-up
At the initial stage, the performance testing of The Mosquito Trap was conducted in a pilot program. SCG worked in collaboration with the Department of Medical Sciences under the Ministry of Public Health to test the performance of 200 sets of The Mosquito Trap in the lab and deployment on on-site in Chanthaburi province, a location known for the year-round high-density prevalence of Aedes albopictus.
Testing the performance of The Mosquito Trap in the community
Recently, The Mosquito Trap has also been piloted to test its performance in Map Ta Phut community and Ban Bon community in Rayong province, the key target areas due to its record of second-highest number of dengue cases of the country. The pilot program focuses on testing the performance of The Mosquito Trap with Aedes aegypti. The pilot program is expected to last three months. The data collected in the program will be used to improve the performance of the Mosquito Trap before scaling up in other provinces that reported with a high incidence of dengue cases.
The Mosquito Trap is another project that reflects SCG’s strong commitment to uplifting people’s quality of life in society. With its expertise in innovation creation combined with a strong collaboration network, SCG strives to achieve the goal of defeating dengue fever and raise the quality of public health and health services in communities in Thailand.