GCE Special: Outdoor mosquito control using odour-baited devices: development and evaluation of a potential new strategy to complement indoor malaria prevention methods

Abstract

Existing malaria vector control measures, such as long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and house spraying with residual insecticides (IRS), have significantly contributed to the decreasing burden of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that intervention scale-up from the year 2000 to 2010 averted between 563.000 and 1.36 million child deaths in 43 malaria-endemic countries in Africa. Despite these gains, evidence suggests that even in communities where most people already use the current prevention measures, there remains a significant amount of residual transmission, not readily amenable to control. For example, while LLINs and IRS are especially effective against indoor-feeding and indoor-biting species such as Anopheles gambiae and An. funestus, these interventions are far less effective against An. arabiensis, which now dominates many epidemiological niches left by An. gambiae after long-term vector control in endemic countries. Others include An. rivulorum and An. ziemanni, which also play a secondary but vital transmission role in areas with high IRS and LLIN use.