The U.S. Agency for International Development gave two groups — WeRobotics and Vayu — funding for developing drones that researchers could use to combat the spread of the Zika virus, according to an NBC News report.
WeRobotics is planning on using the funding to carry sterile mosquitoes into affected and hard-to-access zones. Introducing sterile insects can reduce insect populations as insects will then mate with barren bugs. This technique has been used in places that are easy to access by roads. Drones can now be used to further the technique's reach to more inaccessible areas. WeRobotics will collaborate with the United Nations to transport the sterile mosquitoes.
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Vayu is focusing on developing on drones to deliver medical supplies or transport laboratory samples back and forth from hard-to-reach areas.
USAID is supporting a number of Zika-fighting solutions, including the two new drone-related ones.
Zika causes microcephaly as well as additional conditions in infants, such as congenital Zika syndrome. It has also been linked to Guillain–Barre syndrome in adults, a condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves and incites paralysis.
As of Oct. 5, 24, 2016 people in U.S. territories have contracted the Zika virus.