Opinion: Support Your Local Hero Rat

(Aug. 17) -- Giant pouched African rats have a nose for success.

APOPO, a registered charity in Belgium and based in Tanzania, has trained these long-whiskered critters to sniff out unexploded land mines and save human lives. Working for rewards of banana slices and peanuts, "Hero Rats" schooled in Tanzania have become amazingly proficient at smelling TNT on the job in Mozambique.

The problem is, APOPO's rats need the support of more humans. Even heroes need heroes.

Unexploded land mines aren't unique to Mozambique. They affect at least 70 countries, according to a BBC News report earlier this year. Those deadly remnants of war caused 5,200 casualties worldwide in 2008 alone.

Still, I've read a lot about higher-tech methods than rats for land mine detection. Do a few wiggly-nosed rodents in Mozambique really merit the public's special attention? Six months ago, I might have said no. Now I'm cheering for the Hero Rats, and here's why.

A Tanzanian trainer monitors an African giant pouched rat's search of a simulated minefield, March 16, 2007.

Steve Ringman, Seattle Times / MCT

A Tanzanian trainer monitors an African giant pouched rat's search of a simulated minefield. The rat paws the dirt when it catches a whiff of explosives, and is rewarded with food.

"The whole area [of de-mining technology] is a minefield of preconceived ideas that trip up most who set off with noble intentions of doing something to help," land mine expert Dr. James Trevelyan of the University of Western Australia wrote to me earlier this year.

In other words, de-mining technology doesn't necessarily transfer from the planning room to the field. That's why APOPO empowers vulnerable communities by teaching people low-tech skills to solve their own problems. Giant pouched African rats are ultra low-tech, available locally, three to four times cheaper to train than dogs and not heavy enough to activate land mine detonators and become casualties.

The July 30, 2010, Business Report (IOL News) reported plans for sending Hero Rats to Angola where 6 million land mines lie buried. Yes, I said 6 million. And in 2009, only 30 Hero Rats were operational in landmine detection. That's a lot to ask, even of heroes. Obviously, Hero Rats will complement other technologies in Angola, and more certified rodents will be needed.

Of course, negative human attitudes toward rats create marketing challenges for APOPO, as Steve Hamm described in Bloomberg Businessweek. However, Hero Rats aren't ordinary rodents. Luckily, APOPO has had research grants to sustain the rats' de-mining endeavors.

But while Hero Rats have become a proven technology, the founder of APOPO, Bart Weetjens, worries about the continued availability of grant money.

His quest for new and sustainable revenue sources has led to another reason to support Hero Rats. The little guys are learning to diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates TB infects one-third of the global population and is responsible for the deaths of at least 1.3 million people in 2008. No wonder APOPO's TB research has been supported in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

TB produces an odor Hero Rats can detect. In 2009, the rats sniffed over 23,000 samples initially analyzed for TB by slide microscopy in Tanzanian clinics. A lab technician can analyze 40 samples in one workday. Hero Rats can screen 40 samples in seven minutes. Hey, I've done TB screening. Seven minutes is superhero fast.

In this study, the critters passed the sniffing accuracy exam and also detected 620 cases of TB originally missed by human screeners. In July, the Advocate reported that the number of cases of TB found by Hero Rats but not by traditional screening has risen to 905. APOPO plans additional research with the goal of cost-effective, first-line TB screening by Hero Rats in resource-limited countries.

A new TB infection occurs every second, according to the WHO. A person with active, untreated pulmonary tuberculosis will infect others, and TB germs don't respect geographic boundaries or airport security. Hero Rats could make a difference in the global battle against TB.

On June 16, 2010, New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof ran an op-ed about meaningful Father's Day gifts and suggested a Hero Rat sponsorship. More than 4,000 contributors responded. Giving Dad a rat instead of another dorky tie was a catchy idea.

And by the way, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium became the honorary chairwoman of APOPO in 2009. No doubt, Hero Rats have won her approval, as they have won mine.

Not bad for a bunch of whiskered heroes working for peanuts. Who knows what critical scent they'll sniff for next? For more information, visit the Hero Rat website at http://www.herorat.org and the cool new Parry Gripp "Hero Rats" video on YouTube.

Laurel Anne Hill is the author of Heroes Arise, a ForeWord Book of the Year Award winner for 2007. Read her blog on Red Room.