Everyone knows mosquitoes have a taste for blood, but did you know they have an even bigger sweet tooth?Just as humans are drawn to the sweet smell of a chocolate shop or bakery, mosquitoes find the smell of sugar irresistible.就像人类被巧克力店或面包店的甜味所吸引一样，蚊子一样无法抗拒糖的味道。
All mosquitoes need sugar to survive. Female mosquitoes consume blood to lay eggs, but both male and female mosquitoes require sugar for energy. In fact, even though mosquitoes buzzing in your ears may appear single-minded about biting you, they need sugar more often than they need blood.所有蚊子都需要糖才能生存。雌性蚊子消耗血液来产卵，但雄性和雌性蚊子都需要糖来供给能量。事实上，即便在你耳边嗡嗡作响的蚊子似乎一心一意要咬你，但它们需要糖的时候比需要血的时候多。
Exploiting this craving, researchers have developed a lethal new tool to kill mosquitoes and protect people living in areas at high risk for malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases.利用这种渴望，研究人员开发了一种致命的新工具，可以杀死蚊子并保护生活在疟疾和其他蚊媒疾病高风险地区的人们。
Here’s how it works: In nature, mosquitoes get sugar from flower nectar and plants. But scientists have developed a tempting bait that lures mosquitoes with a highly attractive fruit scent. When they land on it to get their sugar fix, the mosquitoes begin feasting on a sweet meal laced with insecticide. Not long after, they drop dead, reducing mosquito populations and, researchers hope, the spread of malaria in the communities where the traps are used.它是这样工作的：在自然界中，蚊子从花蜜和植物中获取糖分。但科学家们已经开发出一种极具吸引力的水果香味的饵料来引诱蚊子。当它们降落在上面以补充糖分时，蚊子就吃到了一顿含有杀虫剂的甜美大餐。不久之后，它们死亡，这就减少了蚊子的数量，而研究人员希望也能减少疟疾在投放了糖饵的社区中的传播。
While other insects, like bees and butterflies, may also be drawn to the bait’s sweet scent, the bait is just lethal for mosquitoes. A protective membrane, only accessible to mosquitoes, covers the bait and prevents other insects from feasting on the deadly meal inside.其他昆虫，如蜜蜂和蝴蝶，也可能会被诱饵的甜蜜气味所吸引，但诱饵只对蚊子来说是致命的。因为诱饵上的保护膜只有蚊子才能刺破，这阻止了其他昆虫以里面的致命食物为食。
This new mosquito control tool, called Attractive Targeted Sugar Baits or ATSBs, developed by Westham Co., is simple to use, affordable, and has the potential to be a game changer in the effort to eradicate malaria.由Westham Co.公司开发的这种新的蚊虫控制工具，称为有针对性的诱杀糖饵或ATSBs。它使用简单、价格合理，并且有可能成为根除疟疾的关键工具。
And it couldn’t arrive soon enough.Over the past two decades, the world has dramatically reduced the global burden of malaria, preventing 1.7 billion cases and saving 10.6 million lives. This progress has been attributed, in large part, to the widescale use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets, which protect people from bites while they sleep, and indoor residual spraying, which kills mosquitoes that land on insecticide-treated walls and ceilings in homes.在过去的二十年里，全球疟疾负担已经大大减轻，我们预防了17亿例病例并挽救了1060万人的生命。这一进步在很大程度上归功于广泛使用的长效药浸蚊帐，以保护人们在睡觉时免受叮咬，以及室内滞留喷洒，可杀死落在家中喷洒过杀虫剂的墙壁和天花板上的蚊子。
As effective as these tools have been, both mosquitoes and the malaria parasite are constantly evolving, sometimes making these interventions less effective. We’ve seen this again and again with resistance to insecticides and malaria drugs. And that’s why it’s critical that the world continues to innovate with new ways to prevent the spread of malaria.与这些有效工具一样，蚊子和疟原虫也在不断进化，有时会降低这些干预措施的效果。我们已经一次又一次地看到了杀虫剂和疟疾药物的耐药性问题。这就是为什么世界需要持续创新以防止疟疾传播是如此重要。
In response to the widespread use of bed nets and indoor insecticide spraying, mosquitoes have changed their behaviors, according to some researchers. In some areas, instead of seeking their blood meals only inside homes after bedtime, malaria-carrying mosquitoes are now biting outside homes, and earlier in the evening, when people will often cook and socialize.一些研究人员表示，为了应对蚊帐和广泛喷洒的室内杀虫剂，蚊子已经改变了它们的行为。在一些地区，传播疟疾的蚊子不再在人们入睡后在室内寻找血液大餐，而是在傍晚时分人们通常在室外做饭和社交时叮咬。
And this is how the sugar baits fit in.By attracting mosquitoes outside, sugar baits offer a highly effective mosquito control tool for households. About the size of a sheet of notebook paper, sugar baits can be easily installed with a hammer and a nail. Two baits hung on the adjacent outside walls of a home are enough to offer months of protection.通过吸引外面的蚊子，糖饵为家庭提供了一种高效的蚊虫控制工具。大约一张笔记本纸大小的糖饵站可以很容易地用锤子和钉子安装。挂在房屋相邻外墙上的两个糖饵站足以提供数月的保护。
In studies conducted in Mali in 2016 and 2017 researchers found that the sugar baits dramatically reduced mosquito populations and malaria cases in the communities where they were used.在2016年和2017年在马里进行的研究中，研究人员发现，使用糖饵站的社区显著减少了蚊子数量和疟疾病例。
A more recent modeling analysis predicted that sugar baits, when used to complement long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying, could reduce malaria cases by 30 percent in areas with high malaria burdens.最近的一项建模分析预测，当用作长效药浸蚊帐和室内喷洒杀虫剂的补充工具时，糖饵可以在疟疾高负担地区将疟疾病例减少30%。
In 2020, there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases. A 30 percent reduction in malaria cases would be a huge breakthrough and save many lives.2020年，全球有大约2.41亿例疟疾病例。疟疾病例减少30%将是一个巨大的突破，并挽救许多生命。
That’s why our foundation has been supporting the development of sugar baits, including sponsoring a large-scale field trial currently underway in Kenya, Mali, and Zambia. So far, the results have confirmed the effectiveness of the bait stations.这就是为什么我们的基金会一直支持糖饵工具的开发，包括赞助目前在肯尼亚、马里和赞比亚进行的大规模现场试验。目前，结果已经证实了糖饵站的有效性。
If all goes well with the trials, sugar baits could be available for widespread use as soon as next year.如果试验一切顺利，最快明年糖饵站就可以投入广泛使用。
No need to sugarcoat it. For the millions of people at risk of malaria around the world, that would be welcome news.它的作用无需美化。对于全世界数百万处于疟疾风险中的人来说，这将是一个好消息。