Dosimetry of Electromagnetic Exposure of Aedes Aegypti Aquatic Life Stage

Numerical simulations were performed as a dosimetric study to support in vivo radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure experiments. These experiments investigated the effects of RF-EMFs at 3.6 GHz on the development of Aedes aegypti larvae, an important vector of multiple diseases. Given that the larval stage of Ae. aegypti is aquatic, Finite-Difference Time-Domain simulations were conducted with the larvae at various positions in a Petri dish. The simulations indicate that breathing larvae at the water's surface, experience greater EMF power absorption than those feeding near the bottom. This pattern was observed across all four larval instars. For the in vivo exposure experiments, multiple Petri dishes were simultaneously subjected to EMFs. Additional simulations incorporating the 168 Petri dishes revealed that water absorbs the most power at the system's corners, while Petri dishes positioned centrally experience lower absorption levels. The simulated EMF power absorbed combined with the experimental results leads to a better understanding of the level of EMF absorption causing biological effects, possibly contributing to guidelines on RF-EMF exposure of insects.