Finally, A Cure for the African Sleeping Sickness!
Scientists working to eradicate African Sleeping Sickness have discovered that the tsetse fly has a weakness for the color blue-- they are attracted to the color blue, which may help to make them more susceptible to trapping them!
The African Sleeping sickness is transmitted by the tsetse fly when the flies bite, transmitting a parasite, Trypanosoma , into a human. The parasite makes the human feel weak, which can result in fatality, if not diagnosed as quickly as possible. During the height of the latest epidemic, over 300,000 people were infected every year-- with farmers and fishermen being the most at risk population.
To combat the illness, bright blue squares of cloth have been placed every 50 meters or so, along streams, rivers, and pools of more stagnant water-- breeding grounds for the tsetse fly. The flies are attracted to the color, and land on black netting placed next to the bright blue square. The netting is coated with an insecticide. Within two or three minutes after touching the netting, the flies die.
So far, this program has reduced the infection rate to approximately 10,000 per year! The hope of the World Health Organization is to eradicate the disease completely.
Original Article: Health Check: Blue is the color for sleeping sickness cure
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I have heard that this is a terrible disease-- and it appears to be so! The sleeping sickness is very much like an accelerated form of dementia. Persons infected become very tired and weak, sleeping at all hours of the day and night, and it evolves into complete dementia, with death to follow.
I hope that this works!
Dowser
Something as simple as a color swatch enables easier eradication of the host of a serious disease.
You gotta love science
Great article thank sfor posting it
Something as simple a swatch of blue cloth..Amazing, great discovery.
Dear Friend Dowser: Me too.
Great article.
Great medicine.
Enoch,
Now if science can only make the same kind of breakthrough about STD viruses ...
Every so often, some of the most seemingly complex, seemingly unsolvable problems are suddenly dealt with via a surprisingly simple idea.
Great news to hear that this terrible disease may be on the way out-- or at least the occurrance decreasing significantly.
Blue ! Who knew !
Yeah, me too!
The older I get, the better the bed looks...
I thought it was amazing, too!
What I learned when studying pesticides is true: Know your pest!
Thanks, Kavika, I thought it was wonderful!!!
I certainly hope so, Krish! I hope that it can be eradicated, completely!
LOL! Wear a condom, perhaps?
I know! Now, I also know never to wear blue near water...
Who's Ted Shinkle, BF? His name sounds familiar...
My wife says I must be have a disease like that since I sleep so much, but I'm just living what I always wanted as a retired life. Between trips to a bunch of various doctors, I stay up until between 2 and 3am and then sleep in. Many days I also take a 2 or 3 hour afternoon nap. What the hell, my doctor says not to do anything strenuous, so I don't and just goof off most of the time. What the hell, I'm retired. The I must admit, as much as my wife likes laying around doing nothing, it get's really, really boring! In many ways I wish I could work again.
[Note to self: avoid wearing blue clothing when going out for walks in Africa].
Sadly there are other terrible diseases. Many in Africa that most Americans don't even know about. (Ebola is just one of many)
I don't see how this can be called a "cure" for sleeping sickness . At best it is a preventative measure . It's a good start but hardly a cure .