Zika, chikungunya, and dengue have surged in the Americas over the past several years and pose serious health threats in regions of the U.S. where Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquito vectors occur. Ae. aegypti have been detected up to 6 months of the year or longer in parts of Arizona, Florida, and Texas where mosquito surveillance is regularly conducted. However, many areas in the U.S. lack basic data on vector presence or absence. The Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses range in pathogenicity, but all include asymptomatic or mild presentations for which individuals may not seek care. Traditional passive surveillance systems rely on confirmatory laboratory testing and may not detect emergent disease until there is high morbidity in a community or severe disease presentation. Participatory surveillance is an approach to disease detection that allows the public to directly report symptoms electronically and provides rapid visualization of aggregated data to the user and public health agencies. Several such systems have been shown to be sensitive, accurate, and timelier than traditional surveillance. We developed Kidenga, a mobile phone app and participatory surveillance system, to address some of the challenges in early detection of day-biting mosquitoes and Aedes-borne arboviruses and to enhance dissemination of information to at-risk communities. 

Objective

(1) Early detection of Aedes-borne arboviral disease;

(2) improved data on Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus distribution in the United States (U.S.); and

(3) education of clinicians and the public.