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Mechan F, Bartonicek Z, Malone D, Lees RS. Unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and control of vectors of malaria and other vector-borne diseases. Malar J 2023; 22:23. [PMID: 36670398 PMCID: PMC9854044 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-022-04414-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Mechan
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, L3 5QA UK
| | - Zikmund Bartonicek
- Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, L3 5QA UK
| | - David Malone
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), 500 5th Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 USA
| | - Rosemary Susan Lees
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, L3 5QA UK
- Innovation to Impact (I2I), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, L3 5QA UK
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Jones IJ, Sokolow SH, Chamberlin AJ, Lund AJ, Jouanard N, Bandagny L, Ndione R, Senghor S, Schacht AM, Riveau G, Hopkins SR, Rohr JR, Remais JV, Lafferty KD, Kuris AM, Wood CL, De Leo G. Schistosome infection in Senegal is associated with different spatial extents of risk and ecological drivers for Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009712. [PMID: 34570777 PMCID: PMC8476036 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosome parasites infect more than 200 million people annually, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, where people may be co-infected with more than one species of the parasite. Infection risk for any single species is determined, in part, by the distribution of its obligate intermediate host snail. As the World Health Organization reprioritizes snail control to reduce the global burden of schistosomiasis, there is renewed importance in knowing when and where to target those efforts, which could vary by schistosome species. This study estimates factors associated with schistosomiasis risk in 16 villages located in the Senegal River Basin, a region hyperendemic for Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni. We first analyzed the spatial distributions of the two schistosomes’ intermediate host snails (Bulinus spp. and Biomphalaria pfeifferi, respectively) at village water access sites. Then, we separately evaluated the relationships between human S. haematobium and S. mansoni infections and (i) the area of remotely-sensed snail habitat across spatial extents ranging from 1 to 120 m from shorelines, and (ii) water access site size and shape characteristics. We compared the influence of snail habitat across spatial extents because, while snail sampling is traditionally done near shorelines, we hypothesized that snails further from shore also contribute to infection risk. We found that, controlling for demographic variables, human risk for S. haematobium infection was positively correlated with snail habitat when snail habitat was measured over a much greater radius from shore (45 m to 120 m) than usual. S. haematobium risk was also associated with large, open water access sites. However, S. mansoni infection risk was associated with small, sheltered water access sites, and was not positively correlated with snail habitat at any spatial sampling radius. Our findings highlight the need to consider different ecological and environmental factors driving the transmission of each schistosome species in co-endemic landscapes. Schistosome parasites infect more than 200 million people worldwide, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, where many people are at-risk for infection by multiple schistosome species simultaneously. To reduce the global burden of schistosomiasis, control of the parasites’ intermediate host–specific species of freshwater snails–has been elevated in priority to complement mass drug administration campaigns in endemic areas. To maximize the efficacy and efficiency of snail control efforts, a better understanding of where to target intermediate host snails is badly needed. This includes a better understanding of the spatial scale at which snails in the environment contribute to human infection risk, and, in co-endemic settings, how ecological determinants of infection risk vary by schistosome species. We used quantitative snail sampling and remotely-sensed data at 16 villages in the Senegal River Basin to compare and contrast ecological correlates and spatial scales of infection risk from freshwater snails that transmit Schistosoma haematobium versus S. mansoni. We found that infection risk for S. haematobium was associated with snail habitat at a larger spatial radius than is typically considered for schistosomiasis monitoring and control, whereas infection risk for S. mansoni was not positively correlated with snail habitat at any spatial sampling radius, but was associated with small water access sites enclosed by emergent vegetation. Our findings highlight the need to consider the different ecological and environmental factors driving the transmission of each schistosome species in co-endemic landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel J Jones
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, United States of America
| | - Susanne H Sokolow
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, United States of America.,Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Andrew J Chamberlin
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, United States of America
| | - Andrea J Lund
- Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Nicolas Jouanard
- Biomedical Research Center EPLS, Saint-Louis, Senegal.,Station d'Innovation Aquacole, Saint-Louis, Senegal
| | | | | | - Simon Senghor
- Biomedical Research Center EPLS, Saint-Louis, Senegal
| | - Anne-Marie Schacht
- Biomedical Research Center EPLS, Saint-Louis, Senegal.,Université Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR 9017-CIIL-Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Gilles Riveau
- Biomedical Research Center EPLS, Saint-Louis, Senegal.,Université Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR 9017-CIIL-Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Skylar R Hopkins
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America.,Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Biological Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Justin V Remais
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Kevin D Lafferty
- Western Ecological Research Center, United States Geological Survey at Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Armand M Kuris
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Chelsea L Wood
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Giulio De Leo
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, United States of America.,Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
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