MOSQUITO ALERT BCN

Despite scientists and public health authorities around the world are struggling to react to the increasing incidence of mosquito-borne diseases, we do not yet have accurate information on the dynamics of mosquito populations, or the complex patterns of interaction between disease transmitting mosquitoes and humans, which cause the diseases to flow inside a population. This question, is at the center of efforts to improve the well-being of citizens, both at the environmental and public health levels. The re-emergence of epidemic outbreaks due to globalization and climate change is a growing challenge in urban settings around the world, and there is the need to develop programs that bring together multiple vector monitoring and control strategies in a cost-effective, flexible and sustainable way.

There are hundreds of cases of mosquito-borne diseases in Barcelona (dengue, chikungunya and Zika) that increase the risk of mass outbreaks and social inequality in the city, given that risk does not affect everyone equally. This project will use citizen science methodologies and intelligent and networked technologies to (i) hunt mosquitoes and (ii) quantify distribution and dynamics of both mosquito populations and their bites (human-mosquito interactions) at an unprecedented resolution and precision in the city of Barcelona.