An App Aims to Stop Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes From Reproducing

Malaria is preventable and curable, yet nearly half the world’s population remains at risk of catching the mosquito-borne disease. In Africa, which accounted for 95% of the 247 million global cases in 2021, bed nets and indoor spraying of insecticide are the primary tools to curb infections. New vaccines are also being aimed at preventing transmission in young children, who are among the most at risk of dying from the illness. Entrepreneur Arnon Houri-Yafin says policymakers should pursue an additional approach: Stop the bugs from reproducing in the first place.

Houri-Yafin is the founder of Zzapp Malaria, a startup based in Tel Aviv that has created a tool that uses satellite imagery to identify water bodies in which malaria-carrying mosquitoes reproduce and to predict where new water sources will form. Zzapp’s mobile application then helps field workers find water sources they can treat with a biological control—a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis (Bti)—that targets the larvae of mosquitoes, gnats and black flies and is not toxic to other insects, humans and animals.