The Edmund Mach Foundation is active in the agricultural, agri-food and environmental sectors, providing scientific research, education and training, experimentation, and advice and services to companies. It is a non-profit organisation inspired by the values of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and transparency. The Foundation carries on the aims and work of the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige, an institute for agrarian studies founded by the Diet of Innsbruck on 12 January 1874, and of the Centro di Ecologia Alpina, an alpine ecology research centre established with provincial law no. 17 on 31 August 1992.
The Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) is a non-profit research body in the public interest. With a heritage spanning half a century through 7 research centres, more than 400 researchers, and 2 scientific poles, one dedicated to innovation and technologies, the other to the human and social sciences, FBK pursues excellence in science and technology, especially as concerns interdisciplinary approaches and the application dimension. A top-rated research body in Italy, FBK ranked number 1 for scientific excellence in 3 different thematic areas (ICT, History and Sociology) and in economic and social impact, according to the ANVUR research quality assessment results for the 2010-2014 period. (The ANVUR is the Italian national agency for the evaluation of the university and research systems.) The Joint Research Unit FEM/FBK EPILAB specifically deals with the study of the transmission of infectious diseases, including those transmitted by a number of mosquito species.
Since its foundation in 1851, the Rovereto Civic Museum, now a Foundation, has grown by virtue of a fruitful interchange with the city and its people and local areas. The museum caters to a great variety of interests, including natural sciences, archaeology, figurative arts and technology, which have helped it become a source of reference for the civic, economic and cultural life of Rovereto. As a result of these interests, after a brood of Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito) was discovered in a large used tyre factory in the industrial district of Rovereto, the city administration, through the Civic Museum, proposed to identify the possible spread of the outbreak to the city’s inhabited areas and follow its evolution in real time. The main objective of the research is to verify the presence of Aedes albopictus in risk areas of the city. Secondly, we aim to follow spatial and temporal mosquito population dynamics in real time so that timely control measures can be adopted in order to prevent the mosquito population from reaching densities that can be a source of additional outbreaks in the urban areas (e.g. via motor vehicle traffic). Another objective is to keep infestation intensity to an acceptable level for citizens and such that health risks are minimised.
Since 2014, the Comunità Alto Garda e Ledro has been coordinating tiger mosquito monitoring and control programmes on behalf of the Municipalities of Riva del Garda, Arco, Nago-Torbole, Ledro, Tenno, Dro and Drena. Monitoring activities are entrusted to the Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto, which is also responsible for coordinating the team of operators made available by the Servizio per l’Occupazione e la Valorizzazione Ambientale della Provincia Autonoma di Trento to dispense organic larvicide on public land. The Comunità Alto Garda e Ledro takes care of the cost for the car sharing service needed to transfer the team throughout the entire area. In addition, the local police’s positive involvement was sought in order to enforce observance of a single ordinance for tiger mosquito infestation prevention and control, which was adopted by all the Municipalities. Various actions have also been implemented over the years to disseminate information promoting good practices among citizens.
The APPA – Agenzia Provinciale Protezione Ambiente (Provincial Environmental Protection Agency) – and, specifically, the U.O. Acqua, is involved in planning and managing water monitoring networks, in harmony with relevant national provisions, for defining the quality of surface water bodies. In the context of the above project, the APPA is responsible for the impact on ecosystems of synthetic and microbiological larvicide substances used for prophylactic action against mosquitoes and, therefore, introduced in the aquatic environment.
The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe) is a public institute involved in animal health and food safety. Established by national and regional laws as a technical and scientific instrument in the areas of veterinary medicine and food safety, the IZSVe serves various and diverse users: Ministry of Health, Autonomous Regions and Provinces, Local Health Units, private veterinary doctors, operators in the livestock breeding field, food companies, and citizens. In addition, it acts as a national and international reference centre on specific topics for the Health Ministry, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Its activities revolve around four main areas: prevention and control of animal diseases, foodborne pathogen control, health and scientific research, training, and communication. In a global scenario where human-animal interaction is tighter than ever before, the objective of the IZSVe is not only to prevent diseases transmitted from animals to humans, but also to build a world where one health unites humans and animals.
EYWA (EarlY WArning System for Mosquito borne diseases) is a prototype system addressing the critical public health need for prevention and protection against the Mosquito-Borne Diseases (MBDs) and lies under the umbrella of EuroGEO Action Group "Earth Observation for Epidemics of Vector-borne Diseases" which is led by the National Observatory of Athens / BEYOND Centre of Earth Observation Research and Satellite Remote Sensing. The system combines interdisciplinary scientific fields (entomology, epidemiology, ecology, EO, Big Data Analytics, AI/ML, Ensemble Dynamic/Hybrid vs Data Driven models, Data Fusion and Citizen sciences) towards building new directions in applied research and innovative services for public health, such as outbreak forecasting and decision support modeling for vector control applications and other mitigation actions. EYWA system is the outcome of the co-development conducted by the BEYOND Centre of EO Research and Satellite Remote Sensing of the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS) of the National Observatory of Athens, in collaboration with key core partners, the Ecodevelopment S.A. company specialized in mosquito control and data analytics, and the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics of the University of Patras - Physics Department specialized in mathematical modelling, and along with important European organisations from Italy, France, Germany and Serbia, that serve research purposes, perform mosquito control activities, belong to health and decision making sectors. The partnership scheme is open to include new partners from other European countries.