Open AccessRadio-frequency exposure of the yellow fever mosquito (A. aegypti) from 2 to 240 GHz
Author(s) -
Eline De Borre,
Wout Joseph,
Reza Aminzadeh,
Pie Müller,
Matthieu N. Boone,
Iván Josipovic,
Sina Hashemizadeh,
Niels Kuster,
S Kuehn,
Arno Thielens
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos computational biology/plos computational biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.628
H-Index - 182
eISSN - 1553-7358
pISSN - 1553-734X
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009460
Subject(s) - aedes aegypti , dengue fever , finite difference time domain method , absorption (acoustics) , specific absorption rate , radio frequency , yellow fever , dielectric , electromagnetic field , materials science , wavelength , biology , optoelectronics , optics , ecology , physics , telecommunications , antenna (radio) , virology , composite material , virus , quantum mechanics , larva , computer science
Fifth generation networks (5G) will be associated with a partial shift to higher carrier frequencies, including wavelengths comparable in size to insects. This may lead to higher absorption of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) by insects and could cause dielectric heating. The yellow fever mosquito ( Aedes aegypti ), a vector for diseases such as yellow and dengue fever, favors warm climates. Being exposed to higher frequency RF EMFs causing possible dielectric heating, could have an influence on behavior, physiology and morphology, and could be a possible factor for introduction of the species in regions where the yellow fever mosquito normally does not appear. In this study, the influence of far field RF exposure on A . aegypti was examined between 2 and 240 GHz. Using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations, the distribution of the electric field in and around the insect and the absorbed RF power were found for six different mosquito models (three male, three female). The 3D models were created from micro-CT scans of real mosquitoes. The dielectric properties used in the simulation were measured from a mixture of homogenized A . aegypti . For a given incident RF power, the absorption increases with increasing frequency between 2 and 90 GHz with a maximum between 90 and 240 GHz. The absorption was maximal in the region where the wavelength matches the size of the mosquito. For a same incident field strength, the power absorption by the mosquito is 16 times higher at 60 GHz than at 6 GHz. The higher absorption of RF power by future technologies can result in dielectric heating and potentially influence the biology of this mosquito.