Innovation can change and protect lives. There is no better example of this than HR Wallingford’s D-Moss project – aimed at forecasting and therefore controlling dengue fever outbreaks
Half the world’s population is now estimated to be at risk from the dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide. In this episode of the innovators we highlight the Dengue forecasting Model Satellite-based System D-MOSS, a pioneering dengue forecasting system that uses Earth Observation data to give early warning for dengue fever outbreaks in six South Asian countries.
When looking into how to stop dengue fever, there are a number of steps that can be taken to prevent dengue fever and the ability to predict an outbreak as long as 6 months in advance could be imperative to preventing a dengue fever outbreak.
The D-MOSS early warning system is already live in Vietnam and is being implemented in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines and Sri Lanka. It gives beneficiaries several months advance warning of likely outbreaks of dengue fever. It allows local communities to mobilise to eliminate mosquito breeding sites thus reducing incidents of dengue. In combination with better outbreak response, we expect it will help reduce dengue incidence over the project lifetime.
What is Dengue Fever?
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has rapidly spread to all regions of WHO in recent years. Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus. These mosquitoes are also vectors of chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses. Dengue is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by climate parameters as well as social and environmental factors.
Dengue causes a wide spectrum of disease. This can range from subclinical disease (people may not know they are even infected) to severe flu-like symptoms in those infected. Although less common, some people develop severe dengue, which can be any number of complications associated with severe bleeding, organ impairment and/or plasma leakage.
