ISRO satellites to map mosquito-breeding areas

After successfully using space technology to provide healthcare in rural areas, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is now planning to embark upon a unique venture of mapping mosquito-breeding areas in the country with the help of remote sensing satellites.

According to ISRO’s Director of Telemedicine L S Satyamurthy, the country’s space research agency will now be assisting the health authorities to combat the raging mosquito menace in the country by using the geographical information system (GIS) to identify the mosquito-breeding areas.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ninth annual conference of Indian Association of Endocrine Surgeons in Bangalore on Saturday, Satyamurthy said ISRO plans to initiate the concept during a United Nations-ISRO workshop on tele-epidemiology to be held during October this year.

Former Director of ISRO K Kasturirangan said a knowledge of aquatic habitats suitable for mosquito larvae growth was essential to fight the menace of mosquitoes, which spread diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

“But, identifying these locations through conventional ground surveys is difficult and time-consuming. It is appropriate to use satellite data for monitoring aquatic habitats, vegetation cover and human settlements and relate them with changing climatic conditions”, said Kasturirangan, who is now the Director of National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore.

On the application of space technology for telemedicine, Kasturirangan said ISRO’s telemedicine network presently comprises about 320 hospitals including 267 district hospitals and health centers. Over 300,000 patients had been provided with tele-consultation and telemedicine so far, he said.

An impact study conducted on 1,000 of these patients showed that there was a cost saving of 81 per cent, Kasturirangan said. “This means that the patient spent only 19 per cent of the cost that they would have incurred on travel, stay and treatment”, he added.