Toys or Tools? Utilization of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Mosquito and Vector Control Programs

Faraji, Ary; Haas-Stapleton, Eric J.; Sorensen, Brad; Scholl, Marty; Goodman, Gary; Buettner, Joel; Schon, Scott; Lefkow, Nicholas; Lewis, Colin D.; Fritz, Bradley K.; Hoffman, Clint; Williams, Greg

doi:10.1093/jee/toab107

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…UAVs have advantages over traditional larviciding methods for maximum larval control. These advantages include precise larvicide spraying [6]. In addition, the areas that are inaccessible to manned equipment can be accessed and sprayed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the areas that are inaccessible to manned equipment can be accessed and sprayed. Moreover, UAV usage reduces exposure of personnel to hazardous chemicals and landscapes [6]. Maintenance of the UAV after larviciding is also simpler compared to traditional mist blowers and backpacks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…UAV applications of ultra-low volume (ULV) adulticide and granular and liquid larvicides are currently being tested in a few countries [5,6]. The current control strategies against dengue in Kota Kinabalu may have reached a plateau point.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short report: unmanned aerial vehicle for wide area larvicide spraying (WALS) using Vectobac® WG at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Steven,

Solomon,

Arumugam

et al. 2024

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Given the stagnating progress in the fight against dengue in Kota Kinabalu, there is an urgent need to use other strategies to complement the existing vector control, focusing on larviciding. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has been used in vector control programs in many countries. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of using UAVs for larviciding to control Aedes mosquitoes in urban areas. Methodology: The Hexarotor Agro Drone (Polardrone Sdn Bhd, Malaysia) was used to carry out larviciding using Vectobac® manufactured by Valent BioSciences LLC, Libertyville, USA. The drone flew at a height of 10 feet and at a speed of 5 m/s. A total of 32 items with 10 larvae in each item were placed to test the effectiveness of larviciding using UAV. Results: Out of 32 items used, 4 containers had a 100% larva mortality (13.3% mortality). The drone was not able to reach the designated spraying route that had been pre-programmed. This was due to interference with the electromagnetic waves emitted from the home satellite dishes, that were in front of the houses along the route. Conclusions: This trial showed that UAVs will be more suitable for use in larviciding in an open area without electromagnetic disturbances from electric house poles and satellite TV dishes that are commonly present in urban areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short report: unmanned aerial vehicle for wide area larvicide spraying (WALS) using Vectobac® WG at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Steven,

Solomon,

Arumugam

et al. 2024

J Infect Dev Ctries

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“…Commercially available UAVs present a variety of choices, each providing different capabilities and limitations for use in vector control (Table 3) [81]. Broadly, these can be divided into multi-rotor and fixed-wing designs [82,83].…”

Section: Considerations In Selecting the Appropriate Uavmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and control of vectors of malaria and other vector-borne diseases

Mechan

Bartonicek

Malone

et al. 2023

Malar J

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The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has expanded rapidly in ecological conservation and agriculture, with a growing literature describing their potential applications in global health efforts including vector control. Vector-borne diseases carry severe public health and economic impacts to over half of the global population yet conventional approaches to the surveillance and treatment of vector habitats is typically laborious and slow. The high mobility of UAVs allows them to reach remote areas that might otherwise be inaccessible to ground-based teams. Given the rapidly expanding examples of these tools in vector control programmes, there is a need to establish the current knowledge base of applications for UAVs in this context and assess the strengths and challenges compared to conventional methodologies. This review aims to summarize the currently available knowledge on the capabilities of UAVs in both malaria control and in vector control more broadly in cases where the technology could be readily adapted to malaria vectors. This review will cover the current use of UAVs in vector habitat surveillance and deployment of control payloads, in comparison with their existing conventional approaches. Finally, this review will highlight the logistical and regulatory challenges in scaling up the use of UAVs in malaria control programmes and highlight potential future developments. Graphical Abstract

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“…Surveillance is a key component of any dengue prevention and control program. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently been used in mosquito control monitoring in many countries [7][8][9][10]. Although the UAV is a novel technology, it still lacks the ability to monitor and analyze urban sewers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of unmanned ground vehicle systems in urbanized zones: A study of vector Mosquito surveillance in Kaohsiung

Chen¹,

Pan²,

Chen³

et al. 2023

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Dengue fever is a vector-borne disease that has become a serious global public health problem over the past decade. An essential aspect of controlling and preventing mosquito-borne diseases is reduction of mosquito density. Through the process of urbanization, sewers (ditches) have become easy breeding sources of vector mosquitoes. In this study, we, for the first time, used unmanned ground vehicle systems (UGVs) to enter ditches in urban areas to observe vector mosquito ecology. We found traces of vector mosquitoes in ~20.7% of inspected ditches, suggesting that these constitute viable breeding sources of vector mosquitoes in urban areas. We also analyzed the average gravitrap catch of five administrative districts in Kaohsiung city from May to August 2018. The gravitrap indices of Nanzi and Fengshan districts were above the expected average (3.26), indicating that the vector mosquitoes density in these areas is high. Using the UGVs to detect positive ditches within the five districts followed by insecticide application generally yielded good control results. Further improving the high-resolution digital camera and spraying system of the UGVs may be able to effectively and instantly monitor vector mosquitoes and implement spraying controls. This approach may be suitable to solve the complex and difficult task of detecting mosquito breeding sources in urban ditches.

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Toys or Tools? Utilization of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Mosquito and Vector Control Programs

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Short report: unmanned aerial vehicle for wide area larvicide spraying (WALS) using Vectobac® WG at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Short report: unmanned aerial vehicle for wide area larvicide spraying (WALS) using Vectobac® WG at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and control of vectors of malaria and other vector-borne diseases

Use of unmanned ground vehicle systems in urbanized zones: A study of vector Mosquito surveillance in Kaohsiung

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