By Clémentine MALIGORNE.
To protect against mosquitoes, vectors of potentially fatal diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika and even malaria, drones are increasingly used in areas infested with mosquitoes and difficult to access.
Among the multiple functions of drones, there is one promising one: mosquito hunting. Deemed effective, precise, silent… this technology is increasingly used in particularly infested areas to protect against these insects, vectors of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, the Zika virus and even malaria.
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In the United States, for example, drones are used in several states, such as Florida and California, which are particularly affected by the proliferation of mosquitoes. Among these machines, we can cite the technology developed by Leading Edge Aerial Technologies, a company based in Florida (not by chance), which has designed an advanced drone capable of detecting areas densely populated by mosquitoes and difficult to reach. ‘access.
These flying machines, PrecisionVision 40X, spray insects with chemicals to prevent them from spreading. And their virus with it. This drone is “twelve times faster” than traditional anti-mosquito treatment methods which involve the use of backpack sprayers, trucks, planes and helicopters, argues the company cited by the American media Fox Business.
Larvicide spraying drones
This drone is equipped with a tank which discharges a produced on infested areas. This insecticide “activates bacteria in the mosquito’s gut, eliminating larvae while they are in the water,” which is supposed not to harm other species, while thus stopping their proliferation in marshes, ponds or other parks and green spaces. THE “chemicals are approved by the EPA”, the government agency responsible for environmental protection), assures President and CEO Bill Reynolds to Fox Business.
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In California, the Orange County district, south of Los Angeles, acquired a drone of this type a few years ago. According to the authorities – who assure that they only use it in non-residential areas – the device is effective and can eliminate three times more mosquitoes than the average of the last fifteen years, reports the press agency. Associated Press (AP) In this American state, you must hold a license from the Federal Aviation Administration and another from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to be allowed to pilot a drone.
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Mosquito-diffusing drones
It is not only in the United States that this technology is used. In France too, now concerned by the presence of the virus-carrying tiger mosquito, anti-mosquito drones are being deployed. Thus, the Charente-Maritime mosquito control service has had a drone equipped with a spray tank for two years to treat difficult-to-access areas in the marshes, reports France Blue.
A slightly different process, developed by a Brazilian start-up, BirdView, is currently being approved. Instead of spraying infested areas with insecticide, these drones release thousands of sterile male mosquitoes. This technique aims to eradicate the offspring to gradually decimate the mosquito population, reports Francetvinfo.
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Mosquito-borne diseases have long been recognized as a threat to public health. Last year, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned of the deployment of certain invasive mosquitoes, notably the tiger mosquito, which is spreading in particular in Europe, favored by heat waves and floods of more more frequent.
