Earth scientist highlights mobile tool to help fight vector-borne diseases
Published:Friday | August 16, 2024 | 12:10 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Community-based surveillance is being promoted by Dr Russane ‘Rusty’ Low, senior earth scientist at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), as a fundamental strategy in the fight against vector-borne diseases like dengue fever.
Speaking on Tuesday under the theme ‘Building Resilience to Dengue: A Multidisciplinary Approach including Citizen Science’, Low underlined the significance of involving members of the public in the work of the scientific community to aid in the effort of eliminating breeding sites for mosquitoes like the Aedes agypti, which spreads the dengue virus to humans and can transmit other diseases, including Chikungunya and Zika.
Low’s visit, her first to Jamaica, was made possible by the United States Embassy’s speaker programme.
“Citizen science projects facilitate collaboration between scientific researchers and the general public, with the goal of collecting data more efficiently and furthering research in ways not possible without public support,” she explained.
Low also serves as deputy director for science at the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programme implementation office.
She introduced to Jamaican experts a mobile application called the ‘Globe Observer’, under the feature ‘GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper’, that facilitates users in locating and reporting mosquito breeding sites they have found in standing water or somewhere water could collect, as well as to identify potentially dangerous mosquito breeds.
Users are also encouraged to eliminate these breeding habitats by dumping out the water, if possible.
The mobile tool was developed in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Low is one of the lead scientists who developed the key used in the Mosquito Habitat Mapper app.
Climate change
During the sensitisation session with experts from The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and representatives from the ministries of education and youth, as well as health and wellness, Low continued that community participation is now more crucial than ever, because it is anticipated that climate change will exacerbate the effects of vector-borne diseases and disperse them outside of regions with generally high temperatures.
“The whole idea is that we need to use a transdisciplinary approach to health. Just fogging doesn’t work, just using insecticides or personal repellents doesn’t work, epidemiology is not the full answer in following the disease and doing medical interventions, climate change modelling ... and even people doing their own surveillance. None of those things is good on its own, but together it provides a powerful way for us to combat diseases like dengue,” she added.
With 127 nations being a part of the GLOBE programme and who are already using the app, Low said that Jamaica’s participation in this initiative would be “wonderful” and that she remains hopeful that this will happen so that citizens can participate by using the app.
Low hopes to inspire citizens – young people in particular – to adopt positive attitudes that will improve their environment on many fronts and eventually advance scientific education.
Free and accessible
The objective of the GLOBE programme, an international science and education initiative, is to promote scientific literacy and foster relationships among environmental enthusiasts. The key goals of GLOBE are to boost student achievement in science and mathematics, foster greater scientific understanding of the earth, and raise environmental awareness. Students, educators, researchers, and lifelong learners can engage with the worldwide community of GLOBE by taking part in the programme.
The “really great” thing about the GLOBE programme, she told The Gleaner, is that all the data is free and accessible to everyone.
“But each government has to decide whether or not they want to share data,” while understanding that data sovereignty was also important “and so I wouldn’t presume to try and tell Jamaica what to do,” she added.
She continued: “But I think, a lot of times, people don’t know these things are available and one of the reasons I’m here is to let people know that it’s here.”
Low has also sought to encourage citizens to start collecting their own data and protect their spaces by taking on this single activity of dumping out contaminated (mosquito larvae infested) water.
“We have to support people and let them know and understand how critical it is just to protect the area around where you live,” she said.