Fighting mosquitoes, and specifically the spread of certain diseases, has long been the desire of many scholars. And just recently, a group of scientists from the World Mosquito Program together with robotics experts they seem to have found the solution that involves the use of real drones. Several tests have been carried out in the field, including for example the presence of unmanned aircraft that, flying over Fiji, have released many mosquitoes infected with bacteria that have the ability to prevent the spread of very dangerous diseases such as dengue.
This is the name of a very dangerous disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and which can even lead to the development of other more dangerous and fatal diseases. The World Mosquito Program has developed a particular strategy that consists in the infection of these insects with Wolbachia bacteria. These are bacteria that do not pose any threat to humans or the environment and at the same time are also able to prevent dengue disease from nesting inside mosquitoes.
The discovery of scientists
The successful release of large numbers of infected mosquitoes in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta led to a dizzying increase in 2017 77% decrease in dengue infections. But, in a wider geographical area, how to behave? Scientists from the World Mosquito Program and robotics experts have managed to find the solution. The experts revealed that they have developed a “fully automated mosquito dosing system”.
The field test was conducted for 4 weeks in Nakasi, Fiji. The drones used released some mosquitoes previously marked with fluorescent powders so that they could be more easily identified and captured later. Well, this first phase showed that the mosquitoes managed to survive the journey. The drones then worked in a 2 square kilometer area of the city of Nausori.
For 16 weeks they were released Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes for a total of 31,000 insects. The goal was to establish within the local mosquito population the above-mentioned bacterium. After a year, the experts re-examined the issue and discovered that for Wolbachia bacteria was present at 60%. According to experts, their system, which involves the use of anti-mosquito drones, represents a big step forward. But improvements are still needed.
