Field evaluation of a push-pull system to reduce malaria transmission

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 29;10(4):e0123415. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123415. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Malaria continues to place a disease burden on millions of people throughout the tropics, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Although efforts to control mosquito populations and reduce human-vector contact, such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying, have led to significant decreases in malaria incidence, further progress is now threatened by the widespread development of physiological and behavioural insecticide-resistance as well as changes in the composition of vector populations. A mosquito-directed push-pull system based on the simultaneous use of attractive and repellent volatiles offers a complementary tool to existing vector-control methods. In this study, the combination of a trap baited with a five-compound attractant and a strip of net-fabric impregnated with micro-encapsulated repellent and placed in the eaves of houses, was tested in a malaria-endemic village in western Kenya. Using the repellent delta-undecalactone, mosquito house entry was reduced by more than 50%, while the traps caught high numbers of outdoor flying mosquitoes. Model simulations predict that, assuming area-wide coverage, the addition of such a push-pull system to existing prevention efforts will result in up to 20-fold reductions in the entomological inoculation rate. Reductions of such magnitude are also predicted when mosquitoes exhibit a high resistance against insecticides. We conclude that a push-pull system based on non-toxic volatiles provides an important addition to existing strategies for malaria prevention.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anopheles / drug effects*
  • Anopheles / physiology
  • Humans
  • Insect Vectors / drug effects*
  • Insect Vectors / physiology
  • Insecticide Resistance
  • Insecticide-Treated Bednets
  • Insecticides / pharmacology
  • Kenya / epidemiology
  • Malaria / epidemiology
  • Malaria / prevention & control
  • Malaria / transmission*
  • Mosquito Control / methods*

Substances

  • Insecticides