MI-Dengue: A novel tool for dengue vector monitoring in Brazil
Figure 1: Female Aedes aegypti mosquito, the principal vector of dengue.
Recent estimates predict over 300 million cases of dengue fever occur every year, transmitted by the Aedes sp. mosquito vector. The disease causes high fevers, headaches, muscle pain, and a characteristic rash. In severe cases, the disease can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding and blood plasma leakage, and even death.
Brazil is especially hard hit by this disease with over 1 million cases reported in 2010. Cases in 2013 are also set to break the record with 714,000 cases already notified as of April 2013, reported by the Brazilian Ministério da Saúde.
Without a vaccine, it is critical to control the presence of the mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus female mosquitos (Figure 1). The Brazilian government spends more than US$1 billion annually in an effort to reduce the incidence of dengue.
However, the methods used have so far not proven effective in halting the spread of the disease. One factor that might contribute to this is the time-delay between vector monitoring and control implementation. The immature larvae form of the vector is monitored, but the data takes weeks to analyze and the process can only be completed at best, four times per year.
By then, the mosquitos may have gone through several life cycles and the areas with critical mosquito populations may have relocated. To solve this problem, the MI-Dengue monitoring system was developed by Ecovec. By monitoring the adult vector weekly and identifying the presence of the virus in the mosquito, Ecovec can predict the risk of an outbreak four to eight weeks in advance and spatially and temporarily optimize vector control actions.
History of Ecovec
After 20 years as an entomological researcher, Professor Alvaro Eiras (PhD) decided to put his knowledge to the test and create a product to help defend the population against mosquito transmitted diseases. He wondered if it was possible for each Brazilian family to have a trap to capture the dengue fever mosquito vector in their home. Thus, he decided to talk with Paulo Renato, at that time, the leader of the start-up incubator at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).
Paulo Renato saw the value in Prof. Alvaro’s research and decided to join him on his journey. With the help of Instituto Inovaçao, a start-up accelerator who developed “Innovation Diligence”, a specific methodology for technology assessment, Prof. Alvaro came to realize that the “sticky trap” he was developing had a better fit: to enable public authorities to monitor and measure the risk of a dengue outbreak.
The market potential of this new solution appeared to be large, so Instituto Inovaçao decided to offer support by investing in the development of a complete dengue monitoring system. The Brazilian government bought into the idea as well, and over time invested more than US$2 million in grants to fund the innovation.
After three years of hard work, the system was complete and named MI Dengue for Intelligent Monitoring of Dengue. Ecovec, the start-up founded, then introduced its service to the market and secured its first commercial client in 2005.
With increased implementation of MI-Dengue in the following years, it became clear to the Ecovec team that an additional tool was needed to enhance the MI-Dengue system: knowledge of viral infestation status of mosquitos. Ecovec gathered a group of innovators to research, develop, and commercialize a way to analyze mosquitos for dengue virus presence. The team quickly became experts in dengue virus detection, and used biomolecular viral analysis concepts from academia to commercialize a viable service within three years.
The MI Virus service developed uses the latest technology in viral analysis combined with an innovative logistics system to preserve the mosquitos during transport from trap to laboratory.
This is a preview of a full article published in International Pest Control – July/August 2013.
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Category: Public health, Special features
