Monitoring mosquito eco-systems and vector-control strategies using a stand-off optical sensor.

Project Narrative Mosquito-borne diseases are a major challenge for Human health as they affect nearly 700 million people every year and result in close to one million deaths; however, lack of reliable data on mosquito populations has become a serious obstacle to evaluate the effectiveness of vector control programs. The proposed study will make use of a new methodology based on applied optics to remotely count and identify in real-time the species and sex group of flying mosquitoes in their natural habitat. This novel methodology will be used to evaluate the impact of insecticide applications on the population dynamics of key vector of infectious diseases.