2006 Health Award Laureate
Ecovec
| Laureate Country: Brazil |
| Project Country: Brazil |
| Website: www.midengue.com.br |
| Video: 2006Videos/ecovec.mov |
Project Overview:
Prevention is the best method to combat Dengue, a febrile disease, spread to humans by the Aedes mosquito. Intelligent Monitoring System, also known as, M.I. Dengue, is a bio-technological information system designed specifically for prevention and by monitoring the intensity of the Dengue mosquito on a weekly basis. M.I. Dengue is a quick, precise and low cost service that combats Dengue.
Problem Addressed:
Dengue is one of the greatest health problems in the world. The World Health Organization estimated that 50 to 100 million persons annually are infected with Dengue in more than 100 countries, primary in the tropical poor areas of the world. The only way to avoid Dengue is to combat the vector. The mosquito moves and reproduces very quickly in urban areas; to combat the vector, the exact location of a population of mosquitoes is needed, but most prevention methods and medicine for Dengue are expensive and ineffective.
Technology Solution:
The M.I. Dengue system consists of three technical innovations: MosquiTrap, a trap developed specifically to catch gravid Aedes females; AtrAedes, a synthetic pheromone developed to attract Aedes females; and Dengue software, developed to accelerate data transfer. MosquiTraps and AtrAedes are installed in Dengue risk areas and inspected every week to monitor the number of mosquitoes caught in each trap. This data is transferred by PDA's and cell phones to Ecovec to be processed. Maps and graphics are generated within 24 hours and published on a website to which local health managers have access. This quick and precise information is used to manage the actions of the health authorities to fight the Dengue vector.
M.I. Dengue replaces the old fashion pencil-paper surveillance methods and thus, reduces intensive labor, lowers time and cost, and makes it easier to identify the vector in the field. This technology is ten times cheaper than the larval survey that is used by many countries and M.I. Dengue monitors the vector weekly, while the larval survey is carried out only 4-6 times per year.
