Citizen Science: A Gateway for Innovation in Disease-Carrying Mosquito Management?

Automated differentiation of mixed populations of free-flying female mosquitoes under semi-field conditions

Great advances in automated identification systems, or 'smart traps', that differentiate insect species have been made in recent years, yet demonstrations of field-ready devices under free-flight conditions remain rare. Here, we describe the results of mixed-species identification of female mosquitoes using an advanced optoacoustic smart trap design under free-flying conditions. Point-of-capture classification was assessed using mixed populations of congeneric (Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti) and non-congeneric (Ae. aegypti and Anopheles stephensi) container-inhabiting species of medical importance. Culex quinquefasciatus, also common in container habitats, was included as a third species in all assessments. At the aggregate level, mixed collections of non-congeneric species (Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and An. stephensi) could be classified at accuracies exceeding 90% (% error = 3.7-7.1%). Conversely, error rates increased when analysing individual replicates (mean % error = 48.6; 95% CI 8.1-68.6) representative of daily trap captures and at the aggregate level when Ae. albopictus was released in the presence of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus (% error = 7.8-31.2%). These findings highlight the many challenges yet to be overcome but also the potential operational utility of optoacoustic surveillance in low diversity settings typical of urban environments.

A review of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding mosquitoes and mosquito-borne infectious diseases in nonendemic regions

Mosquito-borne infectious diseases (MBIDs) present significant public health risks within tropical and subtropical regions. However, the rapid spread of MBIDs from these areas to temperate regions increase the risk of their emergence in nonendemic regions, i.e., regions where diseases are still sporadic and not sustained in the population. Raising awareness about preventive measures and protective behaviors is of primary importance to face the risks of vector-borne diseases. In this context, the number of studies on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about mosquitoes and MBIDs has grown rapidly in response to the need to identify knowledge and practices in nonendemic countries to fight mosquito proliferation. Building upon the recent developments in this field, we conducted the first-ever literature review to examine KAP studies conducted in nonendemic regions. Our aim was to identify the community's knowledge and attitudes that shape practices concerning the prevention of MBIDs. We used specific keywords regarding the scope of this review and then selected studies that were performed in nonendemic regions for MBIDs, including regions located in European countries, the USA or Asia. We identified 32 KAP studies, the oldest from 2003. The findings in the reviewed studies show that survey participants generally possessed a rather good understanding of mosquito breeding sites. However, there were notable variations in knowledge and perception of MBIDs, primarily linked to the geographic location of the survey and the prevalence of infectious outbreaks related to mosquito transmission. These findings highlight the significant influence of knowledge and awareness in fostering effective mosquito control practices. Moreover, socioeconomic status, particularly educational attainment, and respondents' gender emerged as key determinants in explaining the variability of appropriate practices. The survey results thus show the crucial role of knowledge, emphasizing the need for widespread awareness and information campaigns, encompassing both appropriate practices and efficient mosquito control methods. Understanding the interaction between these factors could provide good guidelines for implementing awareness plans and ultimately motivate the population to actively fight against mosquito proliferation and MBIDs development.

Decision-support tools to build climate resilience against emerging infectious diseases in Europe and beyond

Climate change is one of several drivers of recurrent outbreaks and geographical range expansion of infectious diseases in Europe. We propose a framework for the co-production of policy-relevant indicators and decision-support tools that track past, present, and future climate-induced disease risks across hazard, exposure, and vulnerability domains at the animal, human, and environmental interface. This entails the co-development of early warning and response systems and tools to assess the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures across sectors, to increase health system resilience at regional and local levels and reveal novel policy entry points and opportunities. Our approach involves multi-level engagement, innovative methodologies, and novel data streams. We take advantage of intelligence generated locally and empirically to quantify effects in areas experiencing rapid urban transformation and heterogeneous climate-induced disease threats. Our goal is to reduce the knowledge-to-action gap by developing an integrated One Health-Climate Risk framework.

Demographic and motivational differences between participants in analog and digital citizen science projects for monitoring mosquitoes

Worldwide, citizen scientists help to map the distribution of native and introduced mosquito species in a variety of programs, contributing to environmental research and management decisions. Participant background, behavior, and engagement may vary depending on the project design, especially between those using digital apps and those using physical samples, which in turn may impact the quality and representativeness of the data collected. During the analysis of the responses to a survey directed at citizen scientists participating in  a digital and an analog program, we found significant differences in the respondents' demographic backgrounds. Diverse participant motivations and varying sentiments towards mosquitoes were observed, indicating differing susceptibility in response to the program messages. The results can be translated into recommendations to further strengthen the appeal of citizen science projects and to promote and sustain public engagement in environmental research.

MosChito rafts as effective and eco-friendly tool for the delivery of a Bacillus thuringiensis-based insecticide to Aedes albopictus larvae

Adult mosquito females, through their bites, are responsible for the transmission of different zoonotic pathogens. Although adult control represents a pillar for the prevention of disease spread, larval control is also crucial. Herein we characterized the effectiveness of a suitable tool, named "MosChito raft", for the aquatic delivery of a Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) formulate, a bioinsecticide active by ingestion against mosquito larvae. MosChito raft is a floating tool composed by chitosan cross-linked with genipin in which a Bti-based formulate and an attractant have been included. MosChito rafts (i) resulted attractive for the larvae of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, (ii) induced larval mortality within a few hours of exposure and, more importantly, (iii) protected the Bti-based formulate, whose insecticidal activity was maintained for more than one month in comparison to the few days residual activity of the commercial product. The delivery method was effective in both laboratory and semi-field conditions, demonstrating that MosChito rafts may represent an original, eco-based and user-friendly solution for larval control in domestic and peri-domestic aquatic habitats such as saucers and artificial containers in residential or urban environments.

Citizen Science as an Approach for Responding to the Threat of Anopheles stephensi in Africa

Even as novel technologies emerge and medicines advance, pathogen-transmitting mosquitoes pose a deadly and accelerating public health threat. Detecting and mitigating the spread of Anopheles stephensi in Africa is now critical to the fight against malaria, as this invasive mosquito poses urgent and unprecedented risks to the continent. Unlike typical African vectors of malaria, An. stephensi breeds in both natural and artificial water reservoirs, and flourishes in urban environments. With An. stephensi beginning to take hold in heavily populated settings, citizen science surveillance supported by novel artificial intelligence (AI) technologies may offer impactful opportunities to guide public health decisions and community-based interventions. Coalitions like the Global Mosquito Alert Consortium (GMAC) and our freely available digital products can be incorporated into enhanced surveillance of An. stephensi and other vector-borne public health threats. By connecting local citizen science networks with global databases that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR), we are leveraging a powerful suite of tools and infrastructure for the early detection of, and rapid response to, (re)emerging vectors and diseases.

Tracking wildlife diseases using community science: an example through toad myiasis

Parasite and pathogen surveillance is crucial for understanding trends in their distributions and host spectra, as well as to document changes in their population dynamics. Nevertheless, continuous surveillance is time-consuming, underfunded due to the non-charismatic nature of parasites/pathogens, and research infrastructure is usually limited to short-term surveillance efforts. Species observation data provided by the public can contribute to long-term surveillance of parasites using photographic evidence of infections shared on community science platforms. Here, we used public photo repositories to document the occurrence across space and time of Lucilia spp. (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a parasite inducing nasal toad myiasis in the European toad Bufo bufo (Anura: Bufonidae). We found a total of 262 toad myiasis observations on iNaturalist (n = 132), on GBIF (n = 86), on Flickr (n = 41), and on observation.org (n = 3). Our results indicate that the distribution of toad myiasis is regionally limited, despite its host being widely distributed and abundant across a wide region in Europe. Observations were found in 12 countries with relatively low prevalence, including Belgium (3.90%, CI 2.44–6.18), Denmark (1.26%, CI 0.89–1.80), France (0.45%, CI 0.14–1.38), Germany (1.27%, CI 0.92–1.75), Lithuania (0.50%, CI 0.13–1.98), Luxembourg (1.30%, CI 0.42–3.95), the Netherlands (2.71%, CI 1.61–4.52), Poland (0.89%, CI 0.34–2.35), Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) (4.76%, CI 0.67–27.14), Switzerland (NA), Ukraine (0.87%, CI 0.12–5.91), and in the UK (0.45%, CI 0.28–0.72). Nevertheless, the number of uploaded observations of both parasite infection and host presence indicates a stable increase likely due to the growing popularity of community science websites. Overall, community science is a useful tool to detect and monitor certain wildlife diseases and to recognize potential changes in disease dynamics through time and space.

A literature review of dispersal pathways of Aedes albopictus across different spatial scales: implications for vector surveillance

BACKGROUND

Aedes albopictus is a highly invasive species and an important vector of dengue and chikungunya viruses. Indigenous to Southeast Asia, Ae. albopictus has successfully invaded every inhabited continent, except Antarctica, in the past 80 years. Vector surveillance and control at points of entry (PoE) is the most critical front line of defence against the introduction of Ae. albopictus to new areas. Identifying the pathways by which Ae. albopictus are introduced is the key to implementing effective vector surveillance to rapidly detect introductions and to eliminate them.

METHODS

A literature review was conducted to identify studies and data sources reporting the known and suspected dispersal pathways of human-mediated Ae. albopictus dispersal between 1940-2020. Studies and data sources reporting the first introduction of Ae. albopictus in a new country were selected for data extraction and analyses.

RESULTS

Between 1940-2020, Ae. albopictus was reported via various dispersal pathways into 86 new countries. Two main dispersal pathways were identified: (1) at global and continental spatial scales, maritime sea transport was the main dispersal pathway for Ae. albopictus into new countries in the middle to late 20th Century, with ships carrying used tyres of particular importance during the 1980s and 1990s, and (2) at continental and national spatial scales, the passive transportation of Ae. albopictus in ground vehicles and to a lesser extent the trade of used tyres and maritime sea transport appear to be the major drivers of Ae. albopictus dispersal into new countries, especially in Europe. Finally, the dispersal pathways for the introduction and spread of Ae. albopictus in numerous countries remains unknown, especially from the 1990s onwards.

CONCLUSIONS

This review identified the main known and suspected dispersal pathways of human-mediated Ae. albopictus dispersal leading to the first introduction of Ae. albopictus into new countries and highlighted gaps in our understanding of Ae. albopictus dispersal pathways. Relevant advances in vector surveillance and genomic tracking techniques are presented and discussed in the context of improving vector surveillance.

Integrating Global Citizen Science Platforms to Enable Next-Generation Surveillance of Invasive and Vector Mosquitoes

Mosquito-borne diseases continue to ravage humankind with >700 million infections and nearly one million deaths every year. Yet only a small percentage of the >3500 mosquito species transmit diseases, necessitating both extensive surveillance and precise identification. Unfortunately, such efforts are costly, time-consuming, and require entomological expertise. As envisioned by the Global Mosquito Alert Consortium, citizen science can provide a scalable solution. However, disparate data standards across existing platforms have thus far precluded truly global integration. Here, utilizing Open Geospatial Consortium standards, we harmonized four data streams from three established mobile apps—Mosquito Alert, iNaturalist, and GLOBE Observer’s Mosquito Habitat Mapper and Land Cover—to facilitate interoperability and utility for researchers, mosquito control personnel, and policymakers. We also launched coordinated media campaigns that generated unprecedented numbers and types of observations, including successfully capturing the first images of targeted invasive and vector species. Additionally, we leveraged pooled image data to develop a toolset of artificial intelligence algorithms for future deployment in taxonomic and anatomical identification. Ultimately, by harnessing the combined powers of citizen science and artificial intelligence, we establish a next-generation surveillance framework to serve as a united front to combat the ongoing threat of mosquito-borne diseases worldwide.

Diversity regained: Precautionary approaches to COVID-19 as a phenomenon of the total environment

As COVID-19 emerged as a phenomenon of the total environment, and despite the intertwined and complex relationships that make humanity an organic part of the Bio- and Geospheres, the majority of our responses to it have been corrective in character, with few or no consideration for unintended consequences which bring about further vulnerability to unanticipated global events. Tackling COVID-19 entails a systemic and precautionary approach to human-nature relations, which we frame as regaining diversity in the Geo-, Bio-, and Anthropospheres. Its implementation requires nothing short of an overhaul in the way we interact with and build knowledge from natural and social environments. Hence, we discuss the urgency of shifting from current to precautionary approaches to COVID-19 and look, through the lens of diversity, at the anticipated benefits in four systems crucially affecting and affected by the pandemic: health, land, knowledge and innovation. Our reflections offer a glimpse of the sort of changes needed, from pursuing planetary health and creating more harmonious forms of land use to providing a multi-level platform for other ways of knowing/understanding and turning innovation into a source of global public goods. These exemplary initiatives introduce and solidify systemic thinking in policymaking and move priorities from reaction-based strategies to precautionary frameworks.

Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance by Ad Hoc Observation Using the iNaturalist Platform

Citizen science mosquito surveillance has been growing in recent years due to both increasing concern about mosquito-borne disease and the increasing popularity of citizen science projects globally. Health authorities are recognising the potential importance of citizen science to expanding or enhancing traditional surveillance programs. Different programs have shown success in engaging communities to monitor species of medical importance through low-cost methods. The Mozzie Monitors project was established on iNaturalist—an open citizen science platform that allows participants to upload photos (i.e., observers) and assist identification (i.e., identifiers). This article describes the likelihood of citizen scientists submitting photos of mosquitoes, assesses user submission behaviour, and evaluates public health utility from these citizen science-derived data. From October 2018 to July 2021, the Mozzie Monitors project on iNaturalist received 2118 observations of 57 different species of mosquitoes across Australia. The number of observers in the system increased over time with more than 500 observers and 180 identifiers being active in the project since its establishment. Data showed species bias with large-bodied and colourful mosquitoes being over-represented. Analyses also indicate regional differentiation of mosquito fauna per state, seasonality of activity, and ecological information about mosquitoes. The iNaturalist citizen science platform also allows connectedness, facilitated communication and collaboration between overall users and expert entomologists, of value to medical entomology and mosquito management.

Examining the paradox of urban disease ecology by linking the perspectives of Urban One Health and Ecology with Cities

The ecology of zoonotic, including vector-borne, diseases in urban social-ecological systems is influenced by complex interactions among human and environmental factors. Several characteristics contribute to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases in urban places, such as high human population densities, favorable habitat for vectors, and humans' close proximity to animals and their pathogens. On the other hand, urban living can contribute to the improvement of public health through better access to health services and creation of ecological and technological infrastructure that reduces disease burdens. Therefore, urbanization creates a disease ecology paradox through the interplay of urban health penalties and advantages for individual and community outcomes. To address this contradiction, we advocate a holistic Urban One Health perspective for managing urban systems, especially their green spaces and animal populations, in ways that more effectively control the spread of zoonotic diseases. This view should be coupled with an Ecology with Cities approach which emphasizes actionable science needed for urban planning, management and policymaking; developing disease and vector surveillance programs using citizen and community science methods; and improving education and communication actions that help diverse stakeholders understand the complexities of urban disease ecology. Such measures will enable scholars from many disciplines to collaborate with professionals, government officials, and others to tackle challenges of the urban disease paradox and create more sustainable, health-promoting environments.

Citizen science for monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria vectors in relation to environmental risk factors in Ruhuha, Rwanda

Background

As part of malaria prevention and control efforts, the distribution and density of malaria mosquitoes requires continuous monitoring. Resources for long-term surveillance of malaria vectors, however, are often limited. The aim of the research was to evaluate the value of citizen science in providing insight into potential malaria vector hotspots and other malaria relevant information, and to determine predictors of malaria vector abundance in a region where routine mosquito monitoring has not been established to support vector surveillance.

Methods

A 1-year citizen science programme for malaria mosquito surveillance was implemented in five villages of the Ruhuha sector in Bugesera district, Rwanda. In total, 112 volunteer citizens were enrolled and reported monthly data on mosquitoes collected in their peridomestic environment using handmade carbon-dioxide baited traps. Additionally, they reported mosquito nuisance experienced as well as the number of confirmed malaria cases in their household.

Results

In total, 3793 female mosquitoes were collected, of which 10.8% were anophelines. For the entire period, 16% of the volunteers reported having at least one confirmed malaria case per month, but this varied by village and month. During the study year 66% of the households reported at least one malaria case. From a sector perspective, a higher mosquito and malaria vector abundance was observed in the two villages in the south of the study area. The findings revealed significant positive correlations among nuisance reported and confirmed malaria cases, and also between total number of Culicidae and confirmed malaria cases, but not between the numbers of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae and malaria cases. At the sector level, of thirteen geographical risk factors considered for inclusion in multiple regression, distance to the river network and elevation played a role in explaining mosquito and malaria mosquito abundance.

Conclusions

The study demonstrates that a citizen science approach can contribute to mosquito monitoring, and can help to identify areas that, in view of limited resources for control, are at higher risk of malaria.

The Potential Role of School Citizen Science Programs in Infectious Disease Surveillance: A Critical Review

Public involvement in science has allowed researchers to collect large-scale and real-time data and also engage citizens, so researchers are adopting citizen science (CS) in many areas. One promising appeal is student participation in CS school programs. In this literature review, we aimed to investigate which school CS programs exist in the areas of (applied) life sciences and if any projects target infectious disease surveillance. This review’s objectives are to determine success factors in terms of data quality and student engagement. After a comprehensive search in biomedical and social databases, we found 23 projects. None of the projects found focused on infectious disease surveillance, and the majority centered around species biodiversity. While a few projects had issues with data quality, simplifying the protocol or allowing students to resubmit data made the data collected more usable. Overall, students at different educational levels and disciplines were able to collect usable data that was comparable to expert data and had positive learning experiences. In this review, we have identified limitations and gaps in reported CS school projects and provided recommendations for establishing future programs. This review shows the value of using CS in collaboration with traditional research techniques to advance future science and increasingly engage communities.

Citizen science as a tool for arboviral vector surveillance in a resourced-constrained setting: results of a pilot study in Honiara, Solomon Islands, 2019

Background

Recent arboviral disease outbreaks highlight the value a better understanding of the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes across spatial-temporal scales can provide. Traditional surveillance tools are limited by jurisdictional boundaries, workforce constraints, logistics, and cost; factors that in low- and middle-income countries often conspire to undermine public health protection efforts. To overcome these, we undertake a pilot study designed to explore if citizen science provides a feasible strategy for arboviral vector surveillance in small developing Pacific island contexts.

Methods

We recruited, trained, and equipped community volunteers to trap and type mosquitos within their household settings, and to report count data to a central authority by short-message-service. Mosquito catches were independently assessed to measure participants’ mosquito identification accuracy. Other data were collected to measure the frequency and stability of reporting, and volunteers’ experiences.

Results

Participants collected data for 78.3% of the study period, and agreement between the volunteer citizen scientists’ and the reviewing entomologist’s mosquito identification was 94%. Opportunity to contribute to a project of social benefit, the chance to learn new skills, and the frequency of engagement with project staff were prime motivators for participation. Unstable electricity supply (required to run the trap’s fan), insufficient personal finances (to buy electricity and phone credit), and inconvenience were identified as barriers to sustained participation.

Conclusions

While there are challenges to address, our findings suggest that citizen science offers an opportunity to overcome the human resource constraints that conspire to limit health authorities’ capacity to monitor arboviral vectors across populations. We note that the success of citizen science-based surveillance is dependent on the appropriate selection of equipment and participants, and the quality of engagement and support provided.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-10493-6.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Citizen Science to Complement Traditional Data Gathering Approaches for Medically Important Hard Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the United States

Tick-borne diseases are increasing in North America. Knowledge of which tick species and associated human pathogens are present locally can inform the public and medical community about the acarological risk for tick bites and tick-borne infections. Citizen science (also called community-based monitoring, volunteer monitoring, or participatory science) is emerging as a potential approach to complement traditional tick record data gathering where all aspects of the work is done by researchers or public health professionals. One key question is how citizen science can best be used to generate high-quality data to fill knowledge gaps that are difficult to address using traditional data gathering approaches. Citizen science is particularly useful to generate information on human-tick encounters and may also contribute to geographical tick records to help define species distributions across large areas. Previous citizen science projects have utilized three distinct tick record data gathering methods including submission of: 1) physical tick specimens for identification by professional entomologists, 2) digital images of ticks for identification by professional entomologists, and 3) data where the tick species and life stage were identified by the citizen scientist. We explore the benefits and drawbacks of citizen science, relative to the traditional scientific approach, to generate data on tick records, with special emphasis on data quality for species identification and tick encounter locations. We recognize the value of citizen science to tick research but caution that the generated information must be interpreted cautiously with data quality limitations firmly in mind to avoid misleading conclusions.

The use of mobile phones for the prevention and control of arboviral diseases: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

The rapid expansion of dengue, Zika and chikungunya with large scale outbreaks are an increasing public health concern in many countries. Additionally, the recent coronavirus pandemic urged the need to get connected for fast information transfer and exchange. As response, health programmes have -among other interventions- incorporated digital tools such as mobile phones for supporting the control and prevention of infectious diseases. However, little is known about the benefits of mobile phone technology in terms of input, process and outcome dimensions. The purpose of this scoping review is to analyse the evidence of the use of mobile phones as an intervention tool regarding the performance, acceptance, usability, feasibility, cost and effectiveness in dengue, Zika and chikungunya control programmes.

METHODS

We conducted a scoping review of studies and reports by systematically searching: i) electronic databases (PubMed, PLOS ONE, PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease, LILACS, WHOLIS, ScienceDirect and Google scholar), ii) grey literature, using Google web and iii) documents in the list of references of the selected papers. Selected studies were categorized using a pre-determined data extraction form. Finally, a narrative summary of the evidence related to general characteristics of available mobile health tools and outcomes was produced.

RESULTS

The systematic literature search identified 1289 records, 32 of which met the inclusion criteria and 4 records from the reference lists. A total of 36 studies were included coming from twenty different countries. Five mobile phone services were identified in this review: mobile applications (n = 18), short message services (n=7), camera phone (n = 6), mobile phone tracking data (n = 4), and simple mobile communication (n = 1). Mobile phones were used for surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, and communication demonstrating good performance, acceptance and usability by users, as well as feasibility of mobile phone under real life conditions and effectiveness in terms of contributing to a reduction of vectors/ disease and improving users-oriented behaviour changes. It can be concluded that there are benefits for using mobile phones in the fight against arboviral diseases as well as other epidemic diseases. Further studies particularly on acceptance, cost and effectiveness at scale are recommended.

The Role of Citizen Science in Sustainable Agriculture

Farmers know much more than we think, and they are keen to improve their knowledge in order to improve their farms and increase their income. On the other hand, decision-makers, organizations, and researchers are increasing their use of citizen volunteers to strengthen their outcomes, enhance project implementation, and approach ecosystem sustainability. This paper assesses the role of citizen science relating to agricultural practices and covers citizen science literature on agriculture and farmers’ participation during the period 2007–2019. The literature was examined for the role of citizen science in supporting sustainable agriculture activities, pointing to opportunities, challenges, and recommendations. The study identified the following gaps: insufficient attention to (1) long-term capacity building and dialogue between academics and farming communities; (2) developing countries in the global South and smallholders; (3) agriculture trading and marketing; (4) the rationales of selecting target groups; (5) contributing to accelerated sustainability transitions. The main aim of the research projects reviewed in this study tended to focus on the research outcomes from an academic perspective, not sustainable solutions in practice or sustainability in general. More research is needed to address these gaps and to widen the benefits of citizen science in sustainable agricultural practices.

Digital Health Care Services to Control and Eliminate Malaria in India

In the rural and tribal areas of India, poor healthcare services for malaria are posing a great challenge to malaria control and elimination. Digitisation in malaria healthcare services, including surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment, may be helpful in malaria control and, subsequently, may move towards the elimination goal of India by 2030.

Wicked Solution for Wicked Problems: Citizen Science for Vector-Borne Disease Control in Africa

At the crossroads of interacting biological, socioeconomic, behavioral, and institutional factors, vector-borne diseases are complex 'wicked problems'. In this article, we argue that citizen science can help in vector control by boosting scientific data collection, tapping into local knowledge, and building durable partnerships between scientists and communities.

ZanzaMapp: A Scalable Citizen Science Tool to Monitor Perception of Mosquito Abundance and Nuisance in Italy and Beyond

Mosquitoes represent a considerable nuisance and are actual/potential vectors of human diseases in Europe. Costly and labour-intensive entomological monitoring is needed to correct planning of interventions aimed at reducing nuisance and the risk of pathogen transmission. The widespread availability of mobile phones and of massive Internet connections opens the way to the contribution of citizen in complementing entomological monitoring. ZanzaMapp is the first mobile “mosquito” application for smartphones specifically designed to assess citizens’ perception of mosquito abundance and nuisance in Italy. Differently from other applications targeting mosquitoes, ZanzaMapp prioritizes the number of records over their scientific authentication by requesting users to answer four simple questions on perceived mosquito presence/abundance/nuisance and geo-localizing the records. The paper analyses 36,867 ZanzaMapp records sent by 13,669 devices from 2016 to 2018 and discusses the results with reference to either citizens’ exploitation and appreciation of the app and to the consistency of the results obtained with the known biology of main mosquito species in Italy. In addition, we provide a first small-scale validation of ZanzaMapp data as predictors of Aedes albopictus biting females and examples of spatial analyses and maps which could be exploited by public institutions and administrations involved in mosquito and mosquito-borne pathogen monitoring and control.

Mosquito surveillance and disease outbreak risk models to inform mosquito-control operations in Europe

Surveillance programs are needed to guide mosquito-control operations to reduce both nuisance and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Understanding the thresholds for action to reduce both nuisance and the risk of arbovirus transmission is becoming critical. To date, mosquito surveillance is mainly implemented to inform about pathogen transmission risks rather than to reduce mosquito nuisance even though lots of control efforts are aimed at the latter. Passive surveillance, such as digital monitoring (validated by entomological trapping), is a powerful tool to record biting rates in real time. High-quality data are essential to model the risk of arbovirus diseases. For invasive pathogens, efforts are needed to predict the arrival of infected hosts linked to the small-scale vector to host contact ratio, while for endemic pathogens efforts are needed to set up region-wide highly structured surveillance measures to understand seasonal re-activation and pathogen transmission in order to carry out effective control operations.

Citizen science and smartphone e-entomology enables low-cost upscaling of mosquito surveillance

Mosquito surveillance remains a cornerstone of pest and disease control operations globally but is strongly limited in scale by resources. The use of citizen science to upscale scientific data collection is commonplace, and mosquito surveillance programs have begun to make use of citizen scientists in several countries, particularly for exotic species detection. Here we report on a proof of concept trial in southern Australia for a citizen science mosquito surveillance program characterised by fixed point trapping with BG GAT devices and remote mosquito identification through emailed images, which we term 'e-entomology'. In a study with 126 participants, we detected mosquito seasonality with peak abundance in mid-summer (1.78 mosquitoes per trap per day), weather correlations (positive correlation with maximum temperature, r = 0.41) and a diversity of species (15 of 22 known species in the region) in a metropolitan setting. Whilst we demonstrated that the costs of a citizen science program is only about 20% of a comparable professional surveillance program, the mosquito community sampled by citizen scientists was biased towards container-inhabiting species, particularly Aedes notoscriptus. This is the first time fixed-point mosquito trapping has been combined with citizen science e-entomology to deliver comprehensive surveillance of urban mosquitoes.

Reflections from an old Queenslander: can rear and release strategies be the next great era of vector control?

In this perspective, I discuss the great eras of vector control, centring on Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of dengue, Zika and several other viruses. Since the discovery and acceptance of the role of mosquitoes as vectors of disease agents, several significant strategies have been developed and deployed to control them and the diseases they transmit. Environmental management, insecticides and, to a lesser extent, biological control have emerged as great eras of vector control. In the past decade, the release of massive numbers of specifically modified mosquitoes that mate with wild populations has emerged as a significant new strategy to fight vector-borne diseases. These reared and released mosquitoes have been modified by the addition of a symbiont (e.g. Wolbachia bacteria), radiation or introduction of a genetic construct to either sterilize the wild mosquitoes they mate with, crashing the population, or to reduce the wild population's capacity to vector pathogens. Will these new rear and release strategies become the next great era of vector control? From my vantage point as a dengue control manager and researcher involved in two Wolbachia programmes, I will discuss the hurdles that rear and release programmes face to gain widespread acceptance and success.

USING CITIZEN SCIENCE TO ENHANCE SURVEILLANCE OF AEDES AEGYPTI IN ARIZONA, 2015-17

Vector surveillance is an essential component of vector-borne disease prevention, but many communities lack resources to support extensive surveillance. The Great Arizona Mosquito Hunt (GAMH) was a collaborative citizen science project conducted during 2015-17 to enhance surveillance for Aedes aegypti in Arizona. Citizen science projects engage the public in scientific research in order to further scientific knowledge while improving community understanding of a specific field of science and the scientific process. Participating schools and youth organizations across the state conducted oviposition trapping for 1-4 wk during peak Ae. aegypti season in Arizona and returned the egg sheets to collaborating entomologists for identification. During the 3-year program, 120 different schools and youth organizations participated. Few participants actually collected Aedes eggs in their traps in 2015 or 2017, but about one-third of participants collected eggs during 2016, including 3 areas that were not previously reported to have Ae. aegypti. While relatively few new areas of Ae. aegypti activity were identified, GAMH was found to be a successful method of engaging citizen scientists. Future citizen science mosquito surveillance projects might be useful to further define the ecology and risk for vector-borne diseases in Arizona.