Smartphones Help Identify Which Mosquitoes Carry Which Virus

Mosquitoes have been spreading diseases like chikungunya, dengue, malaria, and zika for decades. But in 2024, disease outbreaks have been occurring faster than ever before.

Although scientists have learned a lot about these flying virus carriers, identifying one mosquito from the other 3,500 remains a significant challenge. 

Currently, vector surveillance begins with collecting mosquito specimens at sentinel sites and then waiting for an expert to analyze the data. This time-consuming process often provides insights after a few infections have become an outbreak.

However, an innovative solution to this challenge may already exist.

A new AI-based system can enable people to identify which mosquito is spreading which virus by taking pictures of them using a smartphone with an inexpensive lens attached.

Developed by a team of bioengineers at Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, with support from Uganda’s malaria control program, Makerere University, and the Gates Foundation, the VectorCam app can detect a mosquito’s species, sex, and abdomen status from a picture. It can also determine whether it has recently fed on blood or developed eggs.

As of August 2024, the app can distinguish among the different species that transmit malaria.

With further refinement, VectorCam could identify species that carry other diseases causing outbreaks in 2024, such as chikungunya, dengue, and Zika.

The VectorCam team recently finished a randomized controlled study of VectorCam and its usability in Uganda. 

The study, published on August 16, 2024 (Vol 11, 2024), was the first summative field usability assessment of VectorCam. The results demonstrated that the VectorCam system is generally usable regarding effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction.

These researchers stated that the global shortage of entomologists and a time-intensive identification process cause significant disease outbreak reporting delays. With VectorCam, vector surveillance is in the hands of community health workers.

VectorCam promises to transform the legacy mosquito vector surveillance process by reducing the expertise required and facilitating timely response reporting.