Flight Traits of Dengue-Infected Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes

Abstract Understanding the flight behaviour of dengue-infected mosquitoes can play a vital role in various contexts, including modelling disease risks and developing effective interventions against dengue. Studies on the locomotor activity of dengue-infected mosquitoes have often faced challenges in terms of methodology. Some studies used small tubes, which impacted the natural movement of the mosquitoes, while others that used cages did not capture the three-dimensional flights, despite mosquitoes naturally flying in three dimensions. Here we performed a comprehensive analysis of the three-dimensional flight behaviour of dengue-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using Mask RCNN (Region-based Convolutional Neural Network). This analysis considered varying parameters such as flight duration, number of flights, Euclidean distance, flight speed, and the volume (space) covered during flights. Results revealed that dengue infection significantly increases the flight duration and volume (space) covered during flights whilst decreasing the total number of flights compared to uninfected mosquitoes. The study did not observe any evident impact on the Euclidean distance and speed of Aedes aegypti. These results highlight the intricate relationship between dengue infection and the flight behaviour of Aedes aegypti, providing valuable insights into the virus transmission dynamics.