Despite their tiny size, mosquitoes cause around 700 million infections and over a million deaths each year, making them among the deadliest animals on the planet. Only a small portion of these insects transmit disease, so watching them closely and detecting them early is crucial.
To tackle this ongoing threat, researchers at the University of South Florida in the United States are supported by a global surveillance network called the Global Mosquito Observation Board, which tracks mosquito presence in real time.
“Tracking mosquitoes on a global scale matters because these vectors cross borders. With travel and trade spreading them into new regions, this is an international issue demanding worldwide attention. For instance, the urban malaria vector Anopheles stephensi has taken hold in parts of India and has recently reached Africa, posing significant risks there”, notes Ryan M. Carney of USF and co-author of this initiative.
The effort begins with three citizen science apps, one of which operates in Spanish: Mosquito Alert. Through these apps, people worldwide use their smartphones to share mosquito photos.
Integrating data from this app with NASA’s GLOBE Observer and iNaturalist from the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic into a single dashboard has proven scalable and effective, according to the study published in a peer-reviewed journal.
“The system is web-based by design and can be accessed from any browser, whether on a desktop, a phone, or a tablet. No app download is required, and users can simply type the URL to view the dashboard”, Carney explains.
Example of how the Spanish Mosquito Alert app works is shown in the accompanying visuals that illustrate synchronization.
By combining international data, the dashboard can deliver information at a frequency and geographic resolution that would be costly or impractical with traditional methods.
“This tool supports mosquito-control professionals as they search for invasive species and track disease vectors worldwide using georeferenced data accessible to anyone with a smartphone”, Carney adds.
Diseases with limited vaccines and tools
There is a growing global need to strengthen mosquito surveillance everywhere, given the lack of vaccines and accessible treatments. Current data aim to help scientists, control personnel, and policymakers detect vectors early.
“Citizen science offers a clear advantage for mosquitoes because it allows people to encounter mosquitoes or bites rather than having to go out searching for species. Yet the diversity of platforms creates data variation in how observations are gathered and verified. The new project seeks to harmonize observations from all three apps”, explains CREAF biologist Alex Richter-Boix, part of the Mosquito Alert team, as reported by SINC.
To test the effectiveness of citizen science in mosquito surveillance, Carney and a team of USF students invited volunteers to focus on the main vectors like Zika, yellow fever, dengue, and Chikungunya. Not only did volunteers locate these vectors, but their efforts yielded the first iNaturalist observations in the United States of certain invasive species, and data were shared with local vector-control authorities in Texas, guiding efforts in Florida where the species was recently detected.
“In the Mosquito Alert program, we also detected invasive species in places where traditional methods had found nothing, such as tiger mosquitoes in certain regions where no records existed at the time”, Richter-Boix notes.
Artificial intelligence at the service of global health
Beyond location data, citizen science supplies valuable photos of adult mosquitoes, larvae, and breeding habitats such as standing water where eggs are laid.
In the latter phase of the project, USF engineering professor Sriram Chellappan will lead efforts to train and test artificial intelligence algorithms to develop image recognition software. The goal is to launch this fall and use AI to identify mosquito species in uploaded citizen science images.
“These images are essential for training our AI models, after which AI can classify incoming photos by species. That step is critical”, Carney emphasizes.
Location-based identification also helps researchers track invasive species and monitor their spread driven by travel, trade, or climate change.
“Using data at a global scale, we can train AI in ways that would not be possible otherwise. For example, Aedes vittatus is invasive in the New World, but its Old World photos helped train our species-identification algorithm”, explains the scientist.
Richter-Boix adds, “Combining data from different projects fills gaps, as some areas remain under-covered. It also reveals regions in need of more information, such as parts of Africa where surveillance is limited. Ethiopia, for instance, is critical due to recent invasive mosquito activity tied to malaria risk.”
Campaign against malaria spread in Africa
Recent developments show the situation with some mosquitoes worsening. The Anopheles stephensi invasive vector raises particular concerns as a urban malaria carrier, breeding in artificial water containers near human dwellings. “The species has entered Africa and is feared to trigger unprecedented urban outbreaks. This trend is already emerging in Ethiopia this year”, Carney warns.
The team has released beta versions of AI tools in development (mosquitoID.org), aiming to assist in detection and monitoring efforts. Citizens across Africa are encouraged to share photos of mosquitoes using Mosquito Alert Africa to help identify and track them.
If unchecked, malaria risk could affect millions. Authorities remain on high alert and are expanding surveillance and emergency control measures, though early detection remains challenging, especially in larval stages.
The threat to Spain
The arrival of invasive species in Spain underscores the importance of the Mosquito Alert system. Tiger mosquitoes have been detected in several communities, and other invasive species have appeared in 2018 along the Cantabrian coast. The effectiveness of the MA system lies in the simple act of a person with a mobile phone contributing data from anywhere.
Traditional entomological sampling campaigns cover only a fraction of the region and require fixed resources, while the scale of Mosquito Alert enables broader monitoring.
The current European threat centers on Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, both potent disease vectors that also invade homes. Aedes aegypti historically caused outbreaks on ships bringing goods from the Americas, and the re-emergence poses serious risks today. Modeling by researchers suggests that a large outbreak could occur if such vectors rebound, highlighting the need for ongoing vigilance and adaptable surveillance.
As the data accumulate, modelers can study vector ecology and build predictive risk maps. The Mosquito Alert program continues to refine approaches to tracking movement and outbreaks across continents.
Global Mosquito Board ongoing work and data collaboration are discussed in ongoing projects and forthcoming tools, with a focus on expanding practical, scalable surveillance and rapid AI-assisted identification across regions.’
For internal use and citation, the project team references a broad data integration framework and acknowledges ongoing contributions from multiple research groups in the field of vector surveillance and AI-assisted identification.