Study finds AI-based approach cuts mosquito population 75% by managing breeding habitats in urban areas

Good news! Can we eradicate bloodsuckers like mosquitos?

There seems to be also a shift in approach: From indoor treatment to larval source management.

This app should definitely help to better manage the many breeding habitats by e.g. recording and keeping track of all activities. 

"... Malaria kills 400,000 people yearly, most of whom are children under the age of five. ...

The pilot, in cooperation with São Tomé and Príncipe’s Health Ministry, was conducted in three of the country’s six districts. Using Zzapp’s technology, 50 field workers located almost 13,000 water bodies that served as mosquito breeding grounds.

The field workers then treated the identified areas to kill mosquito larvae (larvicide) ...

Managing mosquito larvae at the source was once a mainstay of malaria elimination strategy but was abandoned in Africa in favor of insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying.

However, the study’s authors write, development of new technologies and mosquitoes’ growing resistance to insecticides has renewed interest in larval source management. ...
Zzapp’s technology has already been deployed in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and now São Tomé and Príncipe ..."

From the abstract:

"Background

Once a mainstay of malaria elimination operations, larval source management (LSM)—namely, the treatment of mosquito breeding habitats–has been marginalized in Africa in favour of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). However, the development of new technologies, and mosquitoes' growing resistance to insecticides used in LLINs and IRS raise renewed interest in LSM.

Methods

A digitally managed larviciding (DML) operation in three of the seven districts of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) was launched by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and ZzappMalaria LTD. The operation was guided by the Zzapp system, consisting of a designated GPS-based mobile application and an online dashboard, which facilitates the detection, sampling and treatment of mosquito breeding sites. During the operation, quality assurance (QA) procedures and field management methods were developed and implemented.

Results

12,788 water bodies were located and treated a total of 128,864 times. The reduction impact on mosquito population and on malaria incidence was 74.90% and 52.5%, respectively. The overall cost per person protected (PPP) was US$ 0.86. The cost varied between areas: US$ 0.44 PPP in the urban area, and US$ 1.41 PPP in the rural area. The main cost drivers were labour, transportation and larvicide material.

Conclusion

DML can yield highly cost-effective results, especially in urban areas. Digital tools facilitate standardization of operations, implementation of QA procedures and monitoring of fieldworkers’ performance. Digitally generated spatial data also have the potential to assist integrated vector management (IVM) operations. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a larger sample is needed to further substantiate findings."

Study finds AI-based approach cuts mosquito population 75% - ISRAEL21c Pilot project in Africa used Zzapp artificial intelligence to identify and help manage mosquito breeding habitats.

Digitally managed larviciding as a cost-effective intervention for urban malaria: operational lessons from a pilot in São Tomé and Príncipe guided by the Zzapp system (open access)

Screenshots from the Zzapp mobile application. Left: Map view during mapping activity showing areas previously visited by the fieldworker highlighted in yellow. The blue circle indicates the current location of the fieldworker, and blue droplet icons indicate water bodies previously reported.