The Hague - Dutch and Kenyan scientists have designed a unique mosquito trap which uses human odour to attract the malaria-carrying insects, helping cut the number of cases dramatically, researchers said on Wednesday.
A three-year study in Kenya found the special traps baited with synthetic smell helped to catch 70% of the local malaria mosquito population, and led to a 30% drop in cases in households using the devices.
Published on Wednesday in The Lancet, the research was carried out on the Kenyan island of Rusinga with the participation of all 25 000 residents.
"The odour-baited trap may also offer a solution to diseases like dengue fever and the Zika virus," Wageningen University in The Netherlands, which led the research, said in a statement.
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Both dengue and Zika are caused by parasites carried by a different kind of mosquito to the malaria-bearing one, but which is also attracted by human smell.
The trap also reduces the need to rely on pesticides to control mosquitoes, which are becoming increasingly resistant to such chemicals. Using pesticides is also dangerous to agriculture.
"Beating malaria without using insecticides is my ultimate dream," said Willem Takken from Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
He led the study along with researchers from the Kenyan International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.
The solar-powered traps were laced with human pong and placed either outside or inside homes on the island, on Lake Victoria.
Mosquito nets and anti-malarial drugs were also used to combat the disease.
Since the traps need electricity to work, the researchers installed solar panels on the houses as there is no electricity grid on the island. In an added benefit for the local people, the panels could also power two light bulbs, and charge mobile phones.
"Every minute, a child dies of malaria. This disease costs Africa $12bn a year" in health-care costs and lost production, the Dutch university said.
Malaria is caused by parasites transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes.
There is currently no vaccine and around 438 000 people died last year from the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Most of the deaths were among children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.
The WHO is now working towards cutting the number of deaths from malaria by 90% by 2030.


Prosecutor: 'Horrific acts' justify death for Dylann Roof
Charleston - One by one, family members of nine slain black parishioners confronted Dylann Roof for the last time on Wednesday, shouting at him, offering forgiveness and even offering to visit him in prison as he awaits execution for the slaughter.
The 22-year-old avowed white supremacist, who was formally sentenced to death, refused to meet their gaze and simply stared ahead, his head tilted down slightly as it had been for much of his trial.
"Dylann," Janet Scott said quietly as she started speaking. "Dylann! DYLANN!" she said, her voice rising. Toward the end of her remarks, she said, "I wish you would look at me, boy."
Scott, an aunt of 26-year-old Tywanza Sanders, the youngest victim killed in the massacre, demanded that Roof look at her as she talked about her nephew's "great big heart," which could not be donated because of the police investigation.
Forgiveness and anger
The final statements came a day after jurors sentenced an unrepentant Roof to death. The gunman had one final opportunity to ask for mercy but instead told jurors he still "felt like I had to do it."
Although family members testified at Roof's trial, the formal sentencing hearing was intended gave them a chance to speak directly to him, without prosecutors or the judge interrupting or asking questions.
Roof also had an opportunity to speak but declined to say anything. He is the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.
US District Judge Richard Gergel said, "This hate, this viciousness, this moral depravity, will not go unanswered."
Some of the relatives looked directly at Roof. Others chose to look at jurors, who did not have to be in court on Wednesday but told the judge they wanted to attend.
Sheila Capers, the sister-in-law of Cynthia Hurd, said she prayed for Roof's soul to be saved.
"If at any point before you are sentenced and you're in prison and you want me to come and pray with you, I will do that," Capers said.
Felicia Sanders, who survived the attack, said she forgave Roof, echoing comments she made after the shooting. But, she noted, Roof did nothing to save himself.
He served as his own attorney during the sentencing phase and never explained the massacre or asked for his life to be spared.
Sanders brought the bullet-torn, bloodstained Bible she had with her on the night of the June 17, 2015. She told Roof he still lives in her head, and that when she hears a balloon pop or fireworks, it returns her to that night.
"Most importantly, I can't shut my eyes to pray," Sanders said.
'You are Satan'
On the night of the shooting, Roof sat through a 45-minute Bible study session at the black church known as Mother Emanuel with 12 others. He opened fire as they stood and closed their eyes for a final prayer. In all, he fired 77 shots. Each victim was hit at least five times.
Three people survived. Roof told one of them he was sparing her life so she could tell the world he was killing the worshippers at Emanuel AME because he hated black people.
The willingness of some of the relatives to forgive the gunman was widely discussed in the days after the killings. But that did not mean they felt his life should be spared. And there are others who said forgiveness is still a work in progress.
"You are Satan. Instead of a heart, you have a cold, dark space," Gracyn Doctor, the daughter of DePayne Middleton-Doctor, said, expressing hope that Roof would "go straight to hell."
When he was arrested, Roof told FBI agents that he wanted the shootings to bring back segregation or perhaps start a race war.
Instead, the slayings had a unifying effect as South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its Statehouse for the first time in more than 50 years. Other states followed suit, taking down Confederate banners and monuments. Roof had posed with the flag in photos.
The jury convicted Roof last month of all 33 federal charges he faced. He insisted he was not mentally ill and did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.
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