A poster with a lethal sting

Dengue, zika and chikungunya. They may sound like World Cup soccer players, but in fact they’re deadly viruses spread by mosquitos. In tropical countries like Brazil, where frequent rainfall leaves pools of standing water that are mosquito breeding grounds, the fight against fatality is a daily one. But the association Habitat for Humanity and the agency BETC have come up with an ingenious new weapon – a dissolving poster. Targeting favelas and similar high-risk areas, the posters first inform inhabitants about the need to protect themselves against mosquito bites. Then, when it rains, the posters dissolve into an insecticide that’s harmless to humans – and the environment – but fatal to mosquito larvae. In Brazil, print is not dead; it’s deadly.