Treating netting eave baffles with pirimiphos-methyl to control indoor-feeding Anopheles funestus malaria vectors at an affordable cost

The arsenal of insecticides available for vector control is limited to only four classes and resistance to both pyrethroids and organo-chlorines has emerged among malaria vectors in Zambia.

The new organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl is an attractive alternative for inclusion in resistance management strategies because its biochemical mode of action is distinct from both these classes and it is activated by the oxidases that mediate cross-resistance to pyrethroids and organochlorines. However, this insecticide is prohibitively expensive to treat all roofs and walls by conventional indoor residual spraying (IRS).

The researchers propose to develop and evaluate netting eave baffles treated with pirimiphos-methyl placed around the eaves of houses as a means to target lower quantities of insecticide to entry and exit points for mosquitoes. Treating netting eave baffles should also have practical programmatic advantages over IRS because they can be safely achieved by soaking at the level of centralized pre-treatment facilities all the way down to communities and households.

Therefore, the aim is to demonstrate that the application of pirimiphos-methyl eave baffles, at the lowest dosage required to achieve maximum mortality of vectors, can be far more efficacious, durable and affordable than spraying the whole house using conventional IRS at the recommended dosage.

Insecticide Resistance
Product Development
Residual Transmission
Vector Control

Jan 2014 — Jun 2016

$113,980

Zambia

Baits and traps for vector control in malaria