Malaria should be seen as a global concern and not just a disease limited to tropical and sub-tropical areas. Moreover, global warming is likely to result in the spread of the disease, beyond its current geographical regions.
As only adult mosquitoes can transmit the disease, this collaborative work in developing a new diagnostic tool using infrared and AI techniques, to identify the age and species of malaria mosquitoes, is to be welcomed. As pointed out by the investigators, the method may have broader applicability in relation to other diseases as well.
"This approach could also be applied to other diseases, and could be used to evaluate the attempts to limit the expansion of invasive mosquito species across Europe and the United States."