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Arboviruses are spreading at an alarming rate on a global scale. Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses affect more than 500 million people per year. The WHO has assembled the Emergency Committee on February 1st 2016 in the fear of the Zika outbreak all over the world.
To this day, the only known method to fight is to spray insecticides in large quantities on risk areas. Yet, this strategy has proven to be inefficient, mosquitoes develop resistance against the substances and these are very harmful to the environment. That is why it is crucial to develop a precise mapping strategy of the contaminated territories.
Our team designed a novel system that is quick and easy to use. This device traps mosquitoes, and detects the presence of viruses thanks to a biosilica-based patch onto which we apply the mosquito lysate produced by the trap. The analysis results are then passed on to local authorities and centralized into a database, allowing a detailed real-time mapping of the location of infected mosquito populations. Therefore, our system will act as a sentinel to allow prevention and environmental surveillance.
Our project includes three parts: the mosquito trap, the novel biosilica immunodetection patch and the data analysis and mapping software.
The bio-nanomaterial of our patch is based on cellulose and biosilica. This material is biodegradable. The immunodetection component of the patch is customizable to detect different antigens.
We present a new, easy-to-use, eco-friendly antigen detection system, that will target contaminated regions and diminish the use of harmful insecticides
