Eave tubes for malaria control in Africa: an introduction.

Bart G J Knols,Andreas Rose,Marit Farenhorst,Janneke Snetselaar,Patrick Hartmann,Johan Deschietere,Stella T Kessy,Kija R Ng’Habi,Eleanore D Sternberg,Michael Cordel,Valeriana S Mayagaya,Johan M H Knols,Rob Andriessen,Matthew B Thomas,Sergej Sperling,Issa N Lyimo,Remco A Suer,Anne J Osinga,Ladslaus L Mnyone

doi:10.1186/s12936-016-1452-x

Abstract

In spite of massive progress in the control of African malaria since the turn of the century, there is a clear and recognized need for additional tools beyond long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticides, to progress towards elimination. Moreover, widespread and intensifying insecticide resistance requires alternative control agents and delivery systems to enable development of effective insecticide resistance management strategies. This series of articles presents a novel concept for malaria vector control, the ‘eave tube’, which may fulfil these important criteria. From its conceptualization to laboratory and semi-field testing, to demonstration of potential for implementation, the stepwise development of this new vector control approach is described. These studies suggest eave tubes (which comprise a novel way of delivering insecticides plus screening to make the house more ‘mosquito proof’) could be a viable, cost-effective, and acceptable control tool for endophilic and endophagic anophelines, and possibly other (nuisance) mosquitoes. The approach could be applicable in a wide variety of housing in sub-Saharan Africa, and possibly beyond, for vectors that use the eave as their primary house entry point. The results presented in these articles were generated during an EU-FP7 funded project, the mosquito contamination device (MCD) project, which ran between 2012 and 2015. This was a collaborative project undertaken by vector biologists, product developers, modellers, materials scientists, and entrepreneurs from five different countries.

Highlights

All countries that signed up for the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 have shown dramatic advances in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality over the last 15 years
Close to one billion insecticide-treated bed nets were distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and have been pinpointed as the primary contributor (68 %) to the observed reduction in Plasmodium falciparum prevalence in children 2–10 years of age, which dropped from 33 to 16 % between 2000 and 2015 [2]
The tool should be cost-competitive with long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) and/ or indoor residual spraying (IRS), easy to mass-produce, and easy to install and maintain/service; Fig. 2 Changes in house design, Kilombero Valley, southern Tanzania

Summary

Introduction

All countries that signed up for the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 have shown dramatic advances in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality (as part of MDG6) over the last 15 years. It is widely accepted that the current two major tools for vector control, LLINs and IRS, both highly effective alone or in combination, will not reduce malaria incidence to zero in high transmission settings [5]. This series of articles introduces a novel house-based malaria vector control intervention called the ‘eave tube’, which combines modifications to make a house more ‘mosquito-proof ’ with an innovative way of delivering insecticidal active ingredients.

Results

Conclusion