Experimental African houses to defeat malaria

effective. They found that the mosquitoes attracted by a 1-meter-high house were reduced by 40%. At 2 meters, it was a reduction of 68%, and at 3 meters, it was a reduction of 84%.

“I was surprised that the impact they saw was so big,” said Kelly Sear, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the study. Searle explored how the building materials are, Such as brick, mud and metal, He influences the spread of malaria, saying that this level of reduction is convincing. “We did see very strong evidence that housing construction can prevent malaria infection,” she said.

“It’s really important,” she continued, because mosquito nets and insecticide spraying are not enough. “If we can have additional tools to prevent malaria, that would be great.”

However, adopting this design for new homes or renovations in real communities will be a challenge. “The number of people who will be affected [the academic studies] Said Patrick Kelly, vice president of Habitat International Shelter Twelig Innovation Center. This is an obstacle-but not insurmountable.

One way to make broad changes to a growing population is through building codes that can be enforced by local governments.But the other is the change in consumer behavior: people’s Taste Update in the house because they know what design makes sense—for example, large counter-intuitive windows, but with screens. “I am more optimistic about the consumer behavior route and put knowledge in people’s hands,” Kelly said. “There are some ways to bring some information into the home improvement market where people buy wood-purchase screening.”

Lindsay agreed. “The way architects think about making changes,” he said, “is to build something new and let people see it and say,’Hey, this is cool!’ and copy it.” If the locals see this Based on the appeal of scientific design, they are also more likely to be built in this way.

Okumu believes that design is a more sustainable way to control malaria than using commercial products such as mosquito nets, insecticides and medicines. The goal is simple: prevent mosquitoes from finding humans. “Over the years, I have learned that we must go back to the basic biology of disease,” Okum said. “And malaria is mainly a problem of poor housing and surface water.”

Lindsay is conducting a large clinical trial in Tanzania called Star Home ProjectDesigned by team member Jakob Knudsen, a Danish architect, testing the elasticity of a two-story house, the walls are made of breathable shade cloth, inspired by Southeast Asian designs. The study, which will last three years, will track malaria transmission among children in 110 Star Homes living in 60 villages and compare it with other people living in 440 traditional households.

“They are really beautiful,” Lindsay said.

Each family has a well-ventilated living space with screens upstairs. The wind came in, the breath came out, and the mosquitoes must have moved away. At night, the light shone faintly through the translucent walls-but the house was still hidden in a conspicuous place.

---

More exciting connection stories