Chikungunya battle requires long-term vigilance, say experts

Smart monitoring

Technology is also being looked at by Chinese scientists to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.

A breakthrough has been made in the development of an intelligent vector mosquito surveillance system that offers scientific guidance for disease control, Xinhua News Agency reported. The monitoring technology, developed by a team led by Chen Xiaoguang, a professor at Southern Medical University, has been deployed across multiple communities in Guangdong.

Chen said traditional mosquito-monitoring methods have limitations. "Mosquito traps and mosquito nets only monitor nonblood-fed mosquitoes, while mosquito oviposition traps target blood-fed egg-laying mosquitoes," he said.

"Our innovation employs coordinated dual-device operation for real-time, high-efficiency monitoring."

The automated monitors use attractants that mimic humans to capture non-bloodfed mosquitoes, while smart oviposition buckets utilize container-type miniature water pools to monitor blood-fed gravid Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, achieving four times the efficiency of conventional oviposition traps, he added.