Chikungunya battle requires long-term vigilance, say experts
While outbreak in Guangdong is unusual, health authorities wary of future surges of virus
Smart monitoring
Technology is also being looked at by Chinese scientists to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.
A breakthrough has been made in the development of an intelligent vector mosquito surveillance system that offers scientific guidance for disease control, Xinhua News Agency reported. The monitoring technology, developed by a team led by Chen Xiaoguang, a professor at Southern Medical University, has been deployed across multiple communities in Guangdong.
Chen said traditional mosquito-monitoring methods have limitations. "Mosquito traps and mosquito nets only monitor nonblood-fed mosquitoes, while mosquito oviposition traps target blood-fed egg-laying mosquitoes," he said.
"Our innovation employs coordinated dual-device operation for real-time, high-efficiency monitoring."
The automated monitors use attractants that mimic humans to capture non-bloodfed mosquitoes, while smart oviposition buckets utilize container-type miniature water pools to monitor blood-fed gravid Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, achieving four times the efficiency of conventional oviposition traps, he added.
