Tent Trap for Vector Surveillance of Disease-Carrying Flies

Civilian and military organizations throughout the world perform vector surveillance to identify and control diseases transmitted by arthropods. Human disease vectors such as mosquitoes are attracted to human odors, and standard traps use CO2 as a surrogate for a human attractant. Human landing catch has been used for vector surveillance; although it should detect all threats to humans, it is unacceptable from health and ethical perspectives. The ideal solution would attract all human-biting arthropods while protecting any individuals involved. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes to fabricate and demonstrate the performance of a human-baited tent trap for vector surveillance. Previous animal-baited trap designs have suffered from low catch, and TDA has developed designs to improve the catch efficiency while completely protecting the operator from any exposure to the vectors.