System for dispensing water to birds using automatic openings

Abstract

A system for dispensing water to birds using automatic openings has been developed in response to Saudi Vision 2030, a key pillar of which is to promote public health, pandemic response and the prevention of the spread of communicable diseases. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the species Aedes aegypti, and is more common in tropical and subtropical climates. Once the female mosquito has fed on the blood of a human infected with the disease, the virus replicates in its midgut before spreading to its secondary tissues, including the salivary glands. The mosquito then is able to transmit the disease for the rest of its life to other non-infected persons, the virus entering the individual's bloodstream and thus infecting them. The number of dengue fever cases in Saudi Arabia has risen in recent years, with the country experiencing its worst ever outbreak of the viral infection. According to annual health statistics issued by the Ministry of Health, there were more than 21,000 cases from 2018 to mid-2023. Dengue fever is considered endemic in Saudi Arabia. The virus was first detected in 1994 during an outbreak in Jeddah, which resulted in 289 confirmed cases. Dengue fever appeared in Mecca for the first time in 2004, with the virus being isolated from confirmed cases at the time, and the disease was declared endemic in Saudi Arabia that year. Cases have continued to be recorded, with the numbers varying from year to year, depending on the change in the distribution of the disease vectors (especially the female Ae. Aegypti mosquito, which transmits the disease), taking into account climate conditions, rising suitable temperatures, and increased precipitation and humidity, especially between November and February. Owing to the dynamic nature of the interaction between the dengue virus, the host (female mosquito) and the environment, the vectors may adapt to new environmental and climate conditions. Accordingly, the risk of dengue may vary and shift in the light of climate change in tropical and subtropical regions, together with increasing urbanisation and population movement. The mosquito that spreads dengue fever is active during the day. The female needs only a small amount of standing water to lay its eggs. The eggs hatch, the larvae emerge and, after growing and moulting four times, they start to pupate. In the right conditions, the entire life cycle of a female mosquito lasts approximately 10 days, but it can extend to several weeks in cool weather. Dengue prevention is largely based on controlling female Ae. Aegypti mosquitoes, which are vectors of the disease. It has been found that the best way to prevent the disease is to avoid or reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes, and thus becoming infected with dengue fever, by reducing mosquito breeding sites in order to prevent the mosquitoes from gaining access to sites to lay their eggs. This is done by managing and modifying the environment, such as by eliminating human-made sites that hold water or replacing them with something that prevents mosquitoes from breeding therein. The mosquitoes that carry dengue virus usually live inside and around houses and breed in stagnant water in, for example, birdbaths (drinking devices), used tyres, domestic water storage tanks, vases, etc.

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