Sleeping sickness is a much-neglected tropical disease, caused by a bite from a tsetse fly which transmits a certain parasite. It occurs in most of sub-Sahara Africa. Recently, British scientists discovered that the tsetse fly is attracted to blue. To reduce the tsetse fly population, blue materials such as flags are being posted close to rivers, lakes and swamps where the flies are commonly found. The flies circle it and land on a black netting attached to it which they can’t see, where they pick up an insecticide. Early monitoring of the success of these targets suggests that they are having a big impact, reducing the fly population by around 90 percent, thus reducing the number of people with sleeping sickness.
How to fight sleeping sickness in Africa? Lure the tsetse fly!
More of Today's Solutions
Is No Mow May helping bees or just overgrown hype? Here’s what the experts say
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Letting your lawn grow wild in May to help bees and other pollinators? That’s the pitch behind No ...
Read MoreWhy experts say the hantavirus outbreak is not another COVID
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When a cluster of hantavirus cases emerged aboard the M.V. Hondius, a Dutch polar expedition vessel sailing from ...
Read MoreHow magnesium improves immune cell capabilities
Magnesium is an essential mineral vital to many bodily functions including muscle contraction, nerve transmission, blood pressure, and immunity. Therefore, it makes sense that ...
Read MoreShaping tomorrow: Greece’s progress toward same-sex marriage equality
In a historic move, Greece's center-right government, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is poised to legalize same-sex civil marriage and adoption. Crucially, this ...
Read More
