Visualization of schistosomiasis snail habitats using light unmanned aerial vehicles

Submitted: 10 October 2019
Accepted: 13 February 2020
Published: 8 January 2021
Abstract Views: 1123
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Schistosomiasis, or snail fever, is a parasitic disease affecting over 200 million people worldwide. People become infected when exposed to water containing particular species of freshwater snails. Habitats for such snails can be mapped using lightweight, inexpensive and field-deployable consumer-grade Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. Drones can obtain imagery in remote areas with poor satellite imagery. An unexpected outcome of using drones is public engagement. Whereas sampling snails exposes field technicians to infection risk and might disturb locals who are also using the water site, drones are novel and fun to watch, attracting crowds that can be educated about the infection risk.

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Supporting Agencies

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Stanford University Woods Institute for the Environment, Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University, Davis Family E-IPER Fellowship, James and Nance Kelso Fellowship, Michigan Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan, University of Washington Innovation Award from the UW Innovation Imperative, Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

How to Cite

Chamberlin, A. J., Jones, I. J., Lund, A. J., Jouanard, N., Riveau, G., Ndione, R., Sokolow, S. H., Wood, C. L., Lafferty, K. D., & De Leo, G. A. (2021). Visualization of schistosomiasis snail habitats using light unmanned aerial vehicles. Geospatial Health, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/gh.2020.818

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