Exploring the contributions of bed nets, cattle, insecticides and excitorepellency to malaria control: a deterministic model of mosquito host-seeking behaviour and mortality

Domestic and personal protection measures against malaria exposure either divert host-seeking vectors to other hosts or kill those attempting to feed. Here, we explicitly model mosquito host-seeking processes in the context of local host availability and elucidate the impacts and mechanisms of pyret...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2007-09, Vol.101 (9), p.867-880
Main Authors: Killeen, Gerry F., Smith, Thomas A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anopheles
Bedding and Linens
Biological and medical sciences
Cattle
Culicidae
Ecology
Host-Parasite Interactions - drug effects
Host–parasite relationship
Human protozoal diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Insect Vectors - physiology
Insecticide Resistance
Insecticides
Malaria
Malaria - prevention & control
Medical sciences
Mosquito Control - economics
Mosquito Control - methods
Mosquitoes
Parasitic diseases
Prevention
Protozoal diseases
Transmission
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Summary:Domestic and personal protection measures against malaria exposure either divert host-seeking vectors to other hosts or kill those attempting to feed. Here, we explicitly model mosquito host-seeking processes in the context of local host availability and elucidate the impacts and mechanisms of pyrethroid-treated bed nets in Africa. It has been suggested that excitorepellent insecticides could increase exposure of unprotected humans by concentrating mosquito biting activity on this vulnerable group. This worst-case scenario is confirmed as a possibility where vector populations lack alternative hosts, but an approximate ‘break-even’ scenario, with users experiencing little overall change in exposure, is more likely because of increased mosquito mortality while foraging for resources. Insecticidal nets are predicted to have epidemiologically significant impacts on transmission experienced by users and non-users at levels of coverage that can be achieved by sustainable net distribution systems, regardless of excitorepellency or the ecological setting. The results are consistent with the outcome of several randomised controlled trials, predicting enormous reductions in transmission at individual and community levels. As financial support, technology and distribution systems for insecticide-treated nets improve, massive reductions in malaria transmission could be realised.
ISSN:0035-9203
1878-3503
DOI:10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.04.022