Opportunity: Become a Hired Killer

The famous phrase goes that "necessity is the mother of invention."

Seeing the daily headlines of brain defects and deaths caused by Zika and dengue in Brazil, I wonder if the phrase was ever translated into Portuguese.

You would have to be leaving under a rock to not have heard of Zika and the impending health disaster the media, health officials and the US government is bracing for, however, it is dengue that has caused the most deaths over the last few years. In 2015, the cases of dengue rose 178% causing 843 deaths.

Don't forget that mosquitoes are also responsible for other deadly diseases, such as yellow fever, malaria and chikungunya. In a country that is home to poisonous snakes and painted jaguars, mosquitoes take the top spot as most deadly.

Given the seriousness of the situation, I wonder why I don't hear much regarding technologies to fight mosquitoes. In fact, most of what I have heard is actually the US government's efforts to create a vaccine. One Brazilian university research department is also working on a vaccine, but considering the degree that these diseases have wrecked havoc, there doesn't seem to be enough urgency. This is not to mention that research money is scarce in the country at the moment.

Granted, the country is facing an unprecedented economic crisis, cash strapped state governments and other issues including a wave of swine flu deaths.

So, why haven't private businesses picked up the slack?

Sure, money is tight, but I see dozens of people using their pensions and retirement money to open restaurants and other high risk ventures. I don't see people investing in selling citronella plants or other natural deterrents. A popular tool for killing mosquitoes in homes are tennis rackets with mesh that zap the bugs. The tennis racket offers an option without harsh chemicals. But, why isn't the mesh from these tennis rackets being used to cover windows?

My idea may be silly, but remember that what were once silly ideas are now commonly used technologies. The fact is that creativity may just be the solution to a problem that isn't going away anytime soon. Furthermore, this problem could be a major opportunity for companies abroad to make healthy profits with different technologies, such as genetically altered mosquitoes, which is actually being tested by Brazilian biofactory, Moscamed.

Other interesting technologies that could be used to combat mosquitoes include Microsoft's Mosquito Trap, "ovillanta" a low-tech invention from Canadian and Mexican researchers and ultrasonic devices designed to kill mosquito larvae in sitting water.

So the question is, international companies looking to make a buck in Brazil, why aren't you looking to make a killing by doing a little killing?

Read more about Microsoft's mosquito trap from the BBC  Microsoft Mosquito Trap

Read more about the low-tech solution from Canadian and Mexican researchers at Eurekalert
Low-tech Mosquito Solution