Research Develops Cool Box Technology
Researchers
in Cambodia have developed a low technology cool box that allows
perishable diagnostic tests and medicines to be preserved in
remote communities in the tropics.
A team from the Cambodian National Center for Parasitology,
Entomology and Malaria Control installed the boxes in clinics in
Battambang province.
Magic Boxes
They found that the boxes significantly extended the lifespan of
rapid diagnostic tests for malaria by keeping them below 30
degrees Celsius. The boxes employ a long-established evaporative
cooling technique used to keep food cool in the tropics.
Water in a damp cotton layer inside the box takes in heat as it
evaporates, cooling the metal sides. Clinics and storerooms in
Cambodia and other tropical developing countries often do not
have reliable electricity supplies, so cannot use electric
fridges.
Panos/ Qasim
