After successfully eradicating a major source of malaria, the technology created by a USF public health researcher is being implemented by pest control agencies across Africa and across the Tampa Bay region.
Associate Professor Benjamin Jacob has created a smartphone app that pairs his algorithm with a drone and satellite imagery to locate previously unknown mosquito breeding habitats for same-day processing. His technology has proven so successful, he has launched Seek and Destroy, a program that allows him to train government agencies how to use the app in infectious regions of Cambodia, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda – allowing them to quickly and efficiently direct resources to vulnerable areas before an outbreak.
“What these countries are dealing with is an unspeakable tragedy,” Jacob said. “For me, training the locals is huge. They want knowledge and I think they are willing to do whatever it takes to stop malaria.”
Jacob has focused much of his research in Uganda, where malaria is the leading cause of death, especially among children under five. As published in the American Journal of Entomology, he discovered that each of the 120 homes he studied was infested with at least 200 mosquitoes. With the help of the local pest control officers he trained, Jacob destroyed 100% of the identified habitat in 31 days and eradicated the parasitemia level in previously treated and suspected malaria patients in 62 days.
The system works by identifying specific environments and organisms by their unique “fingerprints” – a red-green-blue value associated exclusively with the species or habitat. For Seek and Destroy’s success, Jacob trained the drone to sense and capture image data sets through his algorithms that allow the system to understand key features, such as mud or vegetation, based on their fingerprints. Each image is then processed and gridded with specific water sources on those surfaces.
The data is then categorized into different categories based on the presence or absence of mosquito larvae and whether the water is positive for mosquitoes. Combined with Jacob’s algorithms, the drone was 100% accurate in locating bodies of water where mosquitoes were most likely to breed.
Jacob has researched mosquitoes since 2010, but he didn’t start testing AI algorithms on drones until 10 years later. Then he discovered the potential impact of predictive mapping on mosquito control.
“Instead of spraying entire fields, we can now only target areas where mosquitoes are present.”
With the ability to precisely locate habitats, the use of harmful insecticides is reduced and the risk of mosquitoes building up resistance is also reduced. Implementing the program at the county or state level can save taxpayers money because it costs thousands of dollars less than aerial vaporizations.
Thanks to a grant from the Joy McCann Foundation, Jacob’s mapping has revealed more than 9,000 mosquito habitats with dengue and Zika viruses found in Hillsboro, Manatee and Polk counties. He is now training local authorities on the application and hopes to have the larval control system complete by the summer of 2023.
Jacob continues his research with a new program, Slash and Clear, that will expand his current technique for identifying larvae of black flies, a species known to cause onchocerciasis — a parasitic disease that causes blindness. The success of the program will confirm whether the technology can be used globally to control any type of invasive or dangerous vector.
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