Title : The impact of insecticide-treated bed nets on the biting times of plasmodium falciparum-infective mosquitoes and transmission intensities in Kamuli District, Uganda: Implications for Malaria control
Abstract:
Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Uganda, despite the fairly wide coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) or long lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) combined with other interventions. This study aimed to determine the impact of ITNs/LLINs on the biting times of malaria vectors and transmission intensities in Kamuli district. A Plasmodium falciparum circum-sporozoite protein Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, ELISA, was performed on 551 (112 pools) and 1640 (331 pools) Anopheles mosquitoes caught at different hours of the night in intervention (with ITNs) and non-intervention (without ITNs) zones, respectively.
The circumsporozoite positivity of the vectors was related to the time of biting humans, while the annual entomological inoculation rates (AEIRs) were obtained by multiplying the average annual human biting rate by the sporozoite rate. ITNs/LLINs did not change the sporozoite-infective biting hours (P = 0.95). Infective biting by the vectors occurred throughout the night, while peak infective bites occurred between 20:00 and 04:00hours in both zones. The annual malaria transmission potential was higher in the non-intervention than in the intervention zone. ITNs were therefore effective against malaria vectors and should be widely promoted in the study area. Other protective interventions when people are not in bed are recommended.
Key Words: Anopheles gambiae, An. funestus, biting cycle, ELISA, Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoites,
Audience Take Away:
- Effectiveness of Bed Nets: Understanding how insecticide-treated bednets influence the biting behavior of Plasmodium falciparum-carrying mosquitoes. This might involve insights into whether bednets reduce biting frequencies or change the time of day when mosquitoes tend to bite humans.
- Transmission Dynamics: Insights into how bednets impact the intensity and frequency of malaria transmission. This includes assessing whether the use of bed nets decreases the number of infective mosquitoes, thereby potentially reducing malaria transmission rates within the communities.
- Public Health Implications: The potential public health benefits of implementing bednet interventions as a means of malaria control. This might include discussions about the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and practical implications of utilizing bednets to mitigate malaria transmission and reduce disease burden.
- Implications for Malaria Control Strategies: Understanding how findings regarding the impact of insecticide-treated-bednets on mosquito biting behavior and malaria transmission might influence broader malaria control strategies, including the importance of bednet distribution and usage in affected regions.
- Overall, the audience would gain insights into the efficacy and importance of insecticide-treated bednets as a tool in the fight against malaria by impacting mosquito behavior and reducing transmission rates
