Sandra Gewehr, Director of Research at Ecodevelopment, was interviewed for an article entitled “New danger” of the German Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, about the potential threat that mosquitoes will pose to public health, beyond the current nuisance, in the face of climate change.
As stated in the article: In Greece, for example, the West Nile virus is so widespread that it poses a risk not only to birds but also to humans. “In the first outbreak in 2010, more than 260 cases were diagnosed and more than 30 people died. Since then, there have been infections every year” says biologist Sandra Gewehr, who works as director of research and development at Ecodevelopment. The company abates mosquitoes, the common house mosquito and the tiger mosquito, on behalf of the government….. If we wish to be able to prevent epidemics, one thing matters above all else: speed. “We are connected to the public health department in real time, everything works digitally. The authorities indicate to us where to intervene no later than three days after diagnosis. If there are already a lot of adult mosquitoes, we use insecticides.“
Rapid mosquito control is also possible because mosquito control operators can now also rely on artificial intelligence. The EYWA early warning system, short for “Early Warning System for Mosquito-borne Diseases”, analyses data on temperature and humidity, satellite records of the earth’s surface, bird migration data and mosquito populations. ….. “In the case of a human outbreak, we can quickly send our teams into the field” says Sandra Gewehr. “We have to use resources wisely, otherwise we will lose the fight with pathogens.”
