How LED Lights Could Help Fight Malaria

A recent study by The Royal Society has found that LED lighting could help with the fight against malaria, a disease reputed to have killed over 500,000 people in 2013 alone. Female mosquitoes that transmit the disease are widely regarded as one of the primary causes of malaria, which is most prevalent in poor and developing regions of Africa. Configured LED lighting, which already has numerous environmental benefits, has been found to be less attractive to anthropods (including mosquitoes) than fluorescent lighting. Travis Longcore, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Southern California said, "For places in the world where glass windows and screens are uncommon, reducing insect attraction to indoor lights is a big deal," said Travis. However, the study also found that artificial lighting used during the research still attracted more insects than the no-light control group. Since 2000, global deaths related to malaria have dropped by 47%. However, there’s a long way to go in the battle, but the study hopes that the findings will inspire lighting engineers to put fresh impetus on human health in the future.