Thwack!

The sound of people slapping at mosquitoes is as much a regional summertime tradition as picnics and swimming pools. But the flying bloodsuckers are rapidly becoming more than just a nuisance. Climate change is driving up the mosquito population and expanding their habitats. More people than ever live in areas where mosquito-borne disease is on the rise, and are exposed to those hazards during more months of the year.

Climate change and global warming are not only increasing mosquitoes’ habitable environments across North and South America. Warming temperatures extend their lifespan, affect seasonal patterns, and increase mosquito populations. Taken together, these changes also increase mosquitos’ ability to harbor and transmit disease. Mosquito-borne threats to communities are becoming more prevalent, including illnesses such as chikungunya, dengue fever, various equine encephalitis viruses, St. Louis encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, and Zika virus. Areas from Massachusetts to California are reporting increased spread of these illnesses. In fact, almost half of the world’s population is now at risk for contracting mosquito-borne illnesses. Dengue fever—an illness that was once found primarily in tropical climates—is racing to more temperate climates. There is no vaccine available in the U.S. for dengue, nor are there medications specific to dengue treatment.

The threat is serious enough to justify increased government spending to research and fight the spread of mosquito-borne disease. Recently, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), announced a proposal to allocate $65 million to support such research.

Keeping dangerous mosquito populations in check and slowing the spread of disease are clearly urgent problems. What can we do?

Supporting Research and Finding Answers With Priorclave

Scientists worldwide are hard at work to learn more. For example the research arm of Texas-based firm Verily has launched the Debug project. This project aims to breed and release sterile mosquitoes to eliminate the disease-carrying ones. Research scientists and engineers have partnered with agencies in Singapore to use Debug to reduce cases of dengue fever in high-density urban areas by suppressing the mosquito population.

Thankfully, it seems to be working! In just four years, test areas recorded more than 90 percent reduction in the mosquito populations, with a corresponding 65 to 80 percent reduction in the number of cases of dengue fever.

Verily’s cleanroom lab uses a custom, vacuum-equipped, non-jacketed Priorclave pass-through autoclave to facilitate automated mosquito rearing systems and algorithmic sorting methods. This energy-efficient, low-water, easily maintained sterilizer fosters both methodologically sound and environmentally clean research. So in addition to facilitating the research to drastically reduce mosquito populations and disease, Priorclave’s low-impact equipment helps reduce the lab’s carbon footprint—fighting the climate change problems that got us into this mess in the first place. As Priorclave North America’s CEO Barbra Wells says: “Priorclave is pleased to both directly support this research, and to help address the root problem of climate change by supplying labs with more efficient, more sustainable equipment options.”

Priorclave Sales Director Lee Oakley adds: “We’re proud to be able to work with global research organizations like Verily and the Debug research teams. We like to think that, in our small way, we’re helping to further their continuing work to improve human health, especially when it comes to addressing a scourge like dengue, that disproportionately impacts some of the most vulnerable populations in the world.”