Kampala — A NEW product that kills the larvae of malaria-causing mosquitoes is being fronted as an environmentally friendly way to curb the spread of malaria.

The product has been tested at the National Chemotherapeutic laboratory, Wandegeya and found to be effective in breaking the breeding cycle of mosquitoes without causing harm to the environment.

"We have tested the product, which is extracted from plants and found it to be effective," said Grace Nambatya, the head of the laboratory. "It is a breakthrough in the fight against malaria because we can use this method to test many local plants."

The new product, described as an organic substance, is added to water containing the larvae and induces reactions in the body of the mosquito once exposed to sunlight.

She also concluded that the used technique is very efficient for integrated control of mosquito species. "It is one of the approaches that will help to fight malaria," she said.

Nambatya said a proposal will soon be presented to the National Council of Science and Technology for field trials and is certain that this would be scaled up as a way of dealing with the vectors that carry malaria. She declined to name the product saying that the team of researchers in Egypt that been working on the plant have not secured an international patent.

However, she pointed out that traditional healers across the country have collected and presented local plants that could work as substitutes to the new product.

"They (the Egyptians) have the technologies and we have the plants," she noted. "It is important to work together and get products that are useful."

Dr. Walid Ali, who represents an Egyptian company Multipharma and the Nile Allied Medic Pharmaceutical Limited, declined to name the product saying that they are still in the process of securing an international patent.

"Parasitic diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis are a plague for millions of people mainly in developing countries and often prohibit the economic development of affected areas," said Walid.

He also pointed out that great efforts have been made in the past to control such diseases by way of medical treatment, pesticides and draining wetlands, but with limited success.

"We have developed this method for mosquito control, which is non-toxic and applicable to poor regions of the world which are infested by severe tropical diseases," he said.

The meeting attracted the National Executive Committee, Kampala City Council and the Health Ministry. Ken Lukyamuzi, former member of Rubaga South, who is also an anti-DDT campaigner, also attended.