Using low-cost drones to map malaria vector habitats

Abstract

BackgroundThere is a growing awareness that if we are to achieve the ambitious goal of malaria elimination, we must compliment indoor-based vector control interventions (such as bednets and indoor spraying) with outdoor-based interventions such as larval source management (LSM). The effectiveness of LSM is limited by our capacity to identify and map mosquito aquatic habitats. This study provides a proof of concept for the use of a low-cost (< $1000) drone (DJI Phantom) for mapping water bodies in seven sites across Zanzibar including natural water bodies, irrigated and non-irrigated rice paddies, peri-urban and urban locations.ResultsWith flying times of less than 30 min for each site, high-resolution (7 cm) georeferenced images were successfully generated for each of the seven sites, covering areas up to 30 ha. Water bodies were readily identifiable in the imagery, as well as ancillary information for planning LSM activities (access routes to water bodies by road and foot) and public health management (e.g. identification of drinking water sources, mapping individual households and the nature of their construction).ConclusionThe drone-based surveys carried out in this study provide a low-cost and flexible solution to mapping water bodies for operational dissemination of LSM initiatives in mosquito vector-borne disease elimination campaigns. Generated orthomosaics can also be used to provide vital information for other public health planning activities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-1973-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Comparative Analysis of the Legislation Evolution for Drone Use in OECD Countries

“…We find several other applications in sports [34]; search and rescue; identification of victims [35]; monitoring, analysis, and management of road traffic [36]; or for monitoring pedestrian behavior and accident prevention [37]. Low-cost drones with a camera on board have been used for public health purposes by detecting water spots to reveal mosquito breading areas responsible for malaria [38,39]. Drones can also be used to identify people with dementia much faster and more efficient than traditional methods [40].…”

Automatic Detection of Open and Vegetated Water Bodies Using Sentinel 1 to Map African Malaria Vector Mosquito Breeding Habitats

“…However, these approaches are only concerned with mapping open water. In public health, mosquito aquatic habitats can often be found in vegetated water bodies including irrigated cropland, such as rice paddies, e.g., [31][32][33][34] and more naturally occurring water bodies with riparian vegetation, such as springs, the fringes of river channels and areas of topographic convergence, e.g., [35][36][37].Although water bodies with dense vegetation canopies are likely to be omitted by general water body mapping programmes, in terms of mosquito control, water bodies with relatively sparse vegetation are characteristic of important malaria vector (Anopheles gambiae sensu lato) aquatic habitats in sub-Saharan Africa [35,37,49,50] (Figure 1). Furthermore, other vector species (e.g., Anopheles coustani, An.…”

“…However, these approaches are only concerned with mapping open water. In public health, mosquito aquatic habitats can often be found in vegetated water bodies including irrigated cropland, such as rice paddies, e.g., [31][32][33][34] and more naturally occurring water bodies with riparian vegetation, such as springs, the fringes of river channels and areas of topographic convergence, e.g., [35][36][37].…”

The Drone Sector in Europe

“…3. Hardy et al (2017) Mapping malaria vector habitats Pulver et al (2016) Transporting automated external defibrillators Chabot and Francis (2016) Bird detection Hodgson et al (2017) Surveying marine fauna Sankey et al (2017) Forest monitoring Casella et al (2017) Mapping coral reefs Szantol et al (2017) Mapping orangutan habitat Chowdhury et al (2017) Disaster response and relief Restas (2015) Supporting disaster management (earthquakes, floods, fires) Source Own elaboration from different sources …”