A billboard to eradicate Zika virus

The Zika virus is carried by mosquitos and has spread rapidly across Brazil and Latin America. More than 1.5 million Zika cases have been recorded in Brazil since April 2015, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month confirmed that the virus can lead to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.

To fight against this virus, several campaigns have been put in motion in Latin America and the Caribbean. UNESCO created radio spots in partnership with WHO and IFRC to prevent against this virus. The power of radio, its proximity to the population and its ease of access, provide a unique opportunity to reach the largest number of people in the shortest possible time to effectively disseminate prevention messages during sanitary crises and epidemics. Three information and prevention radio spots were produced in the four major languages of the region: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
The first spot, “Zika, protection from vector” provides general information and effective measures to respect, to protect oneself his community. It is a general mobilization message.
The second spot, “Protect pregnant women” aims to educate pregnant women about the specific risks of Zika virus. The virus is transmitted from mother to child, so it is important to protect especially pregnant women. This is everyone’s concern, not just women.
The third spot “Zika, avoiding rumors” aims to propagate real and valid information about the virus and risks. This is to dispel the rumors and not to let settle panic atmosphere in communities.

The problem is that this campaign just helps to prevent from the virus, but is poorly effective to make it disappear. This is why a new billboard has been settled in Brazil to attract and kill mosquitos, as part of a campaign launched by two advertising agencies.

The “Mosquito Killer” billboard, created by the agencies Posterscope and NBS, emits carbon dioxide and a lactic acid solution to mimic human breathing and sweat. Mosquitos that are lured to the billboard become trapped inside, and eventually die.
Two billboards have been installed in Rio de Janeiro, and the creators have called on others to install more, using the technical specifications that they have published for free online. They say the billboard is designed to attract the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that has been found to transmit Zika, and that it can lure the insects within a radius of up to 2.5 kilometers (about 1.6 miles).
The WHO has acknowledged that mosquito traps may help curb the spread of Zika, though the organization says further research is needed to determine their efficacy. Chris Jackson, a pest control expert at the University of Southampton, tells the BBC that “anything that can be done to reduce the prevalence of the mosquito is a good thing,” though he notes that the Mosquito Killer billboard could inadvertently cause more people to be bitten, depending on where it’s placed.
“Maybe if it was not in a high-density place, where people are sitting perhaps with exposed legs,” Jackson told the BBC, “otherwise, you’re pulling in hungry mosquitoes and providing them with exposed human flesh.”