Real-time malaria detection in the Amazon rainforest via drone-collected eDNA and portable qPCR

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Parasitology
• One Health

Background:

• Zoonotic malaria surveillance at human-wildlife interfaces is crucial.
• Existing methods often lack integration across reservoirs, vectors, and environmental factors.
• Remote areas pose challenges for timely pathogen detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a drone-based environmental DNA (eDNA) swabbing technique for in situ detection of Plasmodium DNA.
• To assess the feasibility of real-time pathogen surveillance in remote rainforest environments.
• To integrate environmental, wildlife, and vector data for enhanced zoonotic disease intelligence.

Main Methods:

• A drone equipped with a canopy swabbing system collected eDNA samples in the Amazon rainforest.
• Portable quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used for rapid, in situ detection of Plasmodium DNA.
• Passive acoustics identified wildlife reservoirs, while insect traps sampled vectors.

Main Results:

• Plasmodium DNA was successfully detected in one canopy swab sample using multiplex qPCR.
• The end-to-end workflow, from drone deployment to qPCR results, averaged 1.5 hours per assay.
• The method demonstrated real-time detection without cold-chain requirements, identifying co-occurring howler monkeys.

Conclusions:

• Drone-based eDNA swabbing coupled with portable qPCR is a viable proof-of-concept for detecting Plasmodium DNA in remote canopy environments.
• This integrated approach offers a paradigm shift towards proactive, landscape-level pathogen surveillance.
• The technology operationalizes One Health principles by unifying diverse data streams for improved zoonotic disease monitoring.