scholarly journals Design and methods for a quasi-experimental pilot study to evaluate the impact of dual active ingredient insecticide-treated nets on malaria burden in five regions in sub-Saharan Africa

2022 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adama Gansané ◽  
Baltazar Candrinho ◽  
Aimable Mbituyumuremyi ◽  
Perpetua Uhomoibhi ◽  
Sagnon NFalé ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Vector control tools have contributed significantly to a reduction in malaria burden since 2000, primarily through insecticidal-treated bed nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying. In the face of increasing insecticide resistance in key malaria vector species, global progress in malaria control has stalled. Innovative tools, such as dual active ingredient (dual-AI) ITNs that are effective at killing insecticide-resistant mosquitoes have recently been introduced. However, large-scale uptake has been slow for several reasons, including higher costs and limited evidence on their incremental effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The present report describes the design of several observational studies aimed to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of dual-AI ITNs, compared to standard pyrethroid-only ITNs, at reducing malaria transmission across a variety of transmission settings. Methods Observational pilot studies are ongoing in Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Rwanda, leveraging dual-AI ITN rollouts nested within the 2019 and 2020 mass distribution campaigns in each country. Enhanced surveillance occurring in select study districts include annual cross-sectional surveys during peak transmission seasons, monthly entomological surveillance, passive case detection using routine health facility surveillance systems, and studies on human behaviour and ITN use patterns. Data will compare changes in malaria transmission and disease burden in districts receiving dual-AI ITNs to similar districts receiving standard pyrethroid-only ITNs over three years. The costs of net distribution will be calculated using the provider perspective including financial and economic costs, and a cost-effectiveness analysis will assess incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for Interceptor® G2, Royal Guard®, and piperonyl butoxide ITNs in comparison to standard pyrethroid-only ITNs, based on incidence rate ratios calculated from routine data. Conclusions Evidence of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the dual-AI ITNs from these pilot studies will complement evidence from two contemporary cluster randomized control trials, one in Benin and one in Tanzania, to provide key information to malaria control programmes, policymakers, and donors to help guide decision-making and planning for local malaria control and elimination strategies. Understanding the breadth of contexts where these dual-AI ITNs are most effective and collecting robust information on factors influencing comparative effectiveness could improve uptake and availability and help maximize their impact.

2019 ◽  
Vol 188 (12) ◽  
pp. 2120-2130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa A Hast ◽  
Mike Chaponda ◽  
Mbanga Muleba ◽  
Jean-Bertin Kabuya ◽  
James Lupiya ◽  
...  

Abstract Malaria transmission in northern Zambia has increased in the past decade, despite malaria control activities. Evidence-based intervention strategies are needed to effectively reduce malaria transmission. Zambia’s National Malaria Control Centre conducted targeted indoor residual spraying (IRS) in Nchelenge District, Luapula Province, from 2014 to 2016 using the organophosphate insecticide pirimiphos-methyl. An evaluation of the IRS campaign was conducted by the Southern Africa International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research using actively detected malaria cases in bimonthly household surveys carried out from April 2012 to July 2017. Changes in malaria parasite prevalence after IRS were assessed by season using Poisson regression models with robust standard errors, controlling for clustering of participants in households and demographic, geographical, and climatological covariates. In targeted areas, parasite prevalence declined approximately 25% during the rainy season following IRS with pirimiphos-methyl but did not decline during the dry season or in the overall study area. Within targeted areas, parasite prevalence declined in unsprayed households, suggesting both direct and indirect effects of IRS. The moderate decrease in parasite prevalence within sprayed areas indicates that IRS with pirimiphos-methyl is an effective malaria control measure, but a more comprehensive package of interventions is needed to effectively reduce the malaria burden in this setting.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Onyango Sangoro ◽  
Ulrike Fillinger ◽  
Kochelani Saili ◽  
Theresia Estomih Nkya ◽  
Rose Marubu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Concerted effort to control malaria has had a substantial impact on transmission of the disease in the past two decades. In areas where reduced malaria transmission is being sustained through insecticide-based vector control interventions, primarily long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS), non-insecticidal complementary tools will likely be needed to push towards malaria elimination. Once interruption in local disease transmission is achieved, insecticide-based measures can be scaled down gradually and eventually phased out, saving on costs of sustaining control programmes and mitigating any unintended negative health and environmental impacts posed by insecticides. These non-insecticidal methods could eventually replace insecticidal methods of vector control. House screening, a non-insecticidal method, has a long history in malaria control, but is still not widely adopted in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to add to the evidence-base for this intervention in low transmission settings by assessing the efficacy, impact and feasibility of house screening in areas where LLINs are conventionally used for malaria control. Methods: A two-armed, household randomized clinical trial will be conducted in Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe to evaluate whether combined use of house screens and LLINs affords better protection against clinical malaria in children between 6 months and 13 years compared to the sole use of LLINs. Eight hundred households will be enrolled in each study area, where 400 households will be randomly assigned the intervention, house screening and LLINs while the control households will be provided with LLINs only. Clinical malaria incidence will be estimated by actively following up one child from each household for 6 months over the malaria transmission season. Cross-sectional parasite prevalence will be estimated by testing all participating children for malaria parasites at the beginning and end of each transmission season using rapid diagnostic tests.CDC light traps and pyrethrum spray catches (PSC) will be used to sample adult mosquitoes and evaluate the impact of house screening on indoor mosquito density, species distribution and sporozoite rates.Discussion: This study will contribute epidemiological data on the impact of house screening on malaria transmission and assess the feasibility of its implementation on a programmatic scale. Trial registration: This trial was retrospectively registered on 11th August 2020. Registration number PACTR202008524310568.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Onyango P. Sangoro ◽  
Ulrike Fillinger ◽  
Kochelani Saili ◽  
Theresia Estomih Nkya ◽  
Rose Marubu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Concerted effort to control malaria has had a substantial impact on the transmission of the disease in the past two decades. In areas where reduced malaria transmission is being sustained through insecticide-based vector control interventions, primarily long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS), non-insecticidal complementary tools will likely be needed to push towards malaria elimination. Once interruption in local disease transmission is achieved, insecticide-based measures can be scaled down gradually and eventually phased out, saving on costs of sustaining control programs and mitigating any unintended negative health and environmental impacts posed by insecticides. These non-insecticidal methods could eventually replace insecticidal methods of vector control. House screening, a non-insecticidal method, has a long history in malaria control, but is still not widely adopted in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to add to the evidence base for this intervention in low transmission settings by assessing the efficacy, impact, and feasibility of house screening in areas where LLINs are conventionally used for malaria control. Methods A two-armed, household randomized clinical trial will be conducted in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to evaluate whether combined the use of house screens and LLINs affords better protection against clinical malaria in children between 6 months and 13 years compared to the sole use of LLINs. Eight hundred households will be enrolled in each study area, where 400 households will be randomly assigned the intervention, house screening, and LLINs while the control households will be provided with LLINs only. Clinical malaria incidence will be estimated by actively following up one child from each household for 6 months over the malaria transmission season. Cross-sectional parasite prevalence will be estimated by testing all participating children for malaria parasites at the beginning and end of each transmission season using rapid diagnostic tests. CDC light traps and pyrethrum spray catches (PSC) will be used to sample adult mosquitoes and evaluate the impact of house screening on indoor mosquito density, species distribution, and sporozoite rates. Discussion This study will contribute epidemiological data on the impact of house screening on malaria transmission and assess the feasibility of its implementation on a programmatic scale. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov PACTR202008524310568. Registered on August 11, 2020.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne L Wilson ◽  
Steve W Lindsay ◽  
Alfred Tiono ◽  
Jean Baptiste Yaro ◽  
Hilary Ranson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Burkina Faso has one of the highest malaria burdens in sub-Saharan Africa despite the mass deployment of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and use of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in children aged up to 5 years. Identification of risk factors for Plasmodium falciparum infection in rural Burkina Faso could help to identify and target malaria control measures. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 1,199 children and adults was conducted during the peak malaria transmission season in south-west Burkina Faso in 2017. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for microscopically confirmed P. falciparum infection. A malaria transmission dynamic model was used to determine the impact on malaria cases averted of administering SMC to children aged 5–15 year old. Results P. falciparum prevalence was 32.8% in the study population. Children aged 5 to < 10 years old were at 3.74 times the odds (95% CI = 2.68–5.22, p < 0.001) and children aged 10 to 15 years old at 3.14 times the odds (95% CI = 1.20–8.21, p = 0.02) of P. falciparum infection compared to children aged less than 5 years old. Administration of SMC to children aged up to 10 years is predicted to avert an additional 57 malaria cases per 1000 population per year (9.4% reduction) and administration to children aged up to 15 years would avert an additional 89 malaria cases per 1000 population per year (14.6% reduction) in the Cascades Region, assuming coverage of pyrethroid-piperonyl butoxide ITNs. Conclusion Malaria infections were high in all age strata, although highest in children aged 5 to 15 years, despite roll out of core malaria control interventions. Given the burden of infection in school-age children, extension of the eligibility criteria for SMC could help reduce the burden of malaria in Burkina Faso and other countries in the region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar Shrivastava ◽  
Laxmi Shrestha ◽  
Shraddha Prakash ◽  
Roshan Kumar Mehta

Malaria control with transgenic mosquitoes will be challenging; however, recent advances suggest that it may be a possibility in the foreseeable future. Progress towards discovering refractory genes for rodent malaria and gene drive systems for Drosophila provide hope that similar advances may be made for human malaria in mosquito vector species. That said, the African malaria burden has proved exceptionally difficult to diminish by all means tried thus far; and it is unlikely that transgenic mosquitoes will provide an all-in-one solution. Transgenic mosquitoes should be considered within the context of an integrated vector management strategy which should also include insecticide-treated bed-nets, indoor residual spraying with insecticides and treatment of infected individuals with antimalarial drugs. Integrated strategies will be a necessity for any successful african malaria control program and transgenic mosquitoes should be considered as a potential ingredient in the future goal of continent-wide disease control.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Namuganga ◽  
Adrienne Epstein ◽  
Joaniter Nankabirwa ◽  
Arthur Mpimbaza ◽  
Moses Kiggundu ◽  
...  

Abstract The scale-up of malaria control efforts has led to marked reductions in malaria burden over the past twenty years, but progress has slowed. Implementation of indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticide, a proven vector control intervention, has been limited and difficult to sustain partly because questions remain on its added impact over widely accepted interventions such as bed nets. Using data from 14 enhanced surveillance health facilities in Uganda, a country with high bet net coverage yet high malaria burden, we estimate the impact of starting and stopping IRS. We show that stopping IRS resulted in a 5-fold increase in malaria incidence within 10 months, but reinstating IRS led to an over 5-fold decrease within 8 months. In areas where IRS was initiated and sustained, malaria incidence dropped by 85% after year 4. IRS could play a critical role in achieving global malaria targets, particularly in areas where progress has stalled.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Awine ◽  
Sheetal P Silal

Abstract Background Assessing the effectiveness of malaria control measures in Ghana will require taking transmission dynamics of the disease into account given the influence of climate variability in the region of interest. The impact of preventative interventions on malaria incidence and the prospects of meeting program timelines in Ghana have been investigated using mathematical models based on regionally diverse climatic zones. Methods An ordinary non-linear differential equation model with its associated rate parameters was developed incorporating the transitions between various disease compartments for three ecological zones in Ghana. Model parameters were estimated using data captured on the District Health Information Management System in Ghana from 2008 to 2017.The impact of insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying on the incidence of malaria were simulated at various levels of coverage and protective effectiveness in each ecological zone. To fit the model, Approximate Bayesian Computational sampling approach was adopted. Results Increasing the coverage levels of both long lasting insecticide treated bed nets or indoor residual spraying activities without a corresponding increase in their proper use or patronage does not impact highly on averting predicted incidence of malaria in Ghana. Improving on the protective efficacy of long lasting insecticide treated bed nets through proper usage could lead to substantial reductions in the predicted incidence of malaria. Similar results were obtained with indoor residual spraying across all zones. Conclusions Projected goals set in the National Strategic plan for malaria control 2014-2020 as well as WHO targets for malaria pre-elimination by 2030 are only likely be achieved if a substantial improvement in treated bed net usage is achieved coupled with targeted deployment of indoor residual spraying with high efficacy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 213-216
Author(s):  
Basil Brooke

The control of malaria transmitting mosquitoes hinges on accurate species identification. This enables assessments of insecticide susceptibilities and important behavioural characteristics (such as feeding and resting behaviours) by species, leading to the design of coherent insecticide-based control strategies that can be enhanced by additional methodologies for malaria elimination. Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasitic disease that affects many vertebrates including humans. Prior to the 20th century the human malarias (Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi) occurred in tropical and temperate regions but their distribution has since reduced to the tropical belt with by far the highest incidence in sub-Saharan Africa. Global incidence for 2017 was estimated by the WHO at 219 million cases corresponding to 435 000 deaths. It is also estimated that investment in malaria control and elimination amounted to $3.1 billion in 2017. The control (and elimination) of malaria largely hinges on the suppression of mosquito vectors, accurate diagnosis and case detection, and case management using appropriate antimalarial drug regimens. Controlling malaria vector mosquitoes (and of course other mosquito-borne diseases) means being able to identify that which needs to be controlled. This is not unlike the maxim of knowing one's enemy, and disease vector control is often phrased in militaristic terms. The arsenal of tools in the war against malaria vectors includes insecticides, bed nets, repellents, larvicides, endectocides, toxic baits and even modified genes. This call to arms against the transmitters of a deadly disease presupposes that the enemy can be identified, which, unfortunately, is not as easy as it sounds. Identifying malaria vectors to species has posed a significant challenge ever since Ronald Ross and Giovanni Grassi implicated dappled-winged Anopheles mosquitoes in malaria transmission. They could not have known the Pandora's Box they had opened, because several Anopheles species are cryptic. Many hide in cryptic species complexes and groups that confound straightforward morphological methods of identifying them. A species complex is a group of morphologically identical species that are very closely related, but nevertheless vary significantly in their feeding and resting behaviours, and mate assortatively (i.e. they recognise and tend only to mate with conspecific partners) enough that hybridisations between them are rare. Many member species of these complexes are sufficiently diverged that cross-mating between them yields infertile or non-viable offspring, but not in all cases. A species group is a looser assortment of related species whose morphological features match to a point where they are very nearly identical, often requiring specimens from more than one life stage to identify them. They also mate assortatively, and hybrids are rarer or simply never occur. The problem for malaria control is that several vector species, including many primary vectors, are members of cryptic complexes or groups. These invariably contain vector and non-vector species, requiring a complex and laborious system to unravel them and ascribe unambiguous genetic methods for their identification. Added to this complexity is the possibility that any Anopheles. species that takes human blood is a potential vector of the human malarias, with the added caveat that not all populations within a species are vectors. Some member species, and even populations within a species, feed either exclusively on humans (anthropophagy) and are potentially high transmission intensity vectors, or exclusively on livestock animals (zoophagy) making them non-vectors, or take blood from a range of sources including humans, becoming potential vectors of low to medium transmission intensity. An added layer of complexity is genetic heterogeneity between populations within a species. It can be argued that this complexity is not necessarily a problem for malaria control. After all, the aim of suppressing or even eliminating vector populations is the interruption of transmission, regardless of what species they are. But mosquito adaptability dictates otherwise. This is because the primary method of malaria vector control is deployment of specially formulated insecticides against adult mosquitoes, either by indoor residual spraying (IRS) or the treatment of bed nets. Mosquito adaptability has enabled a powerful response to these interventions, with resistance to insecticides becoming so widespread that fully insecticide susceptible malaria vector populations are now quite rare.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Awine ◽  
Sheetal P. Silal

Abstract Background This paper investigates the impact of malaria preventive interventions in Ghana and the prospects of achieving programme goals using mathematical models based on regionally diverse climatic zones of the country. Methods Using data from the District Health Information Management System of the Ghana Health Service from 2008 to 2017, and historical intervention coverage levels, ordinary non-linear differential equations models were developed. These models incorporated transitions amongst various disease compartments for the three main ecological zones in Ghana. The Approximate Bayesian Computational sampling approach, with a distance based rejection criteria, was adopted for calibration. A leave-one-out approach was used to validate model parameters and the most sensitive parameters were evaluated using a multivariate regression analysis. The impact of insecticide-treated bed nets and their usage, and indoor residual spraying, as well as their protective efficacy on the incidence of malaria, was simulated at various levels of coverage and protective effectiveness in each ecological zone to investigate the prospects of achieving goals of the Ghana malaria control strategy for 2014–2020. Results Increasing the coverage levels of both long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying activities, without a corresponding increase in their recommended utilization, does not impact highly on averting predicted incidence of malaria. Improving proper usage of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets could lead to substantial reductions in the predicted incidence of malaria. Similar results were obtained with indoor residual spraying across all ecological zones of Ghana. Conclusions Projected goals set in the national strategic plan for malaria control 2014–2020, as well as World Health Organization targets for malaria pre-elimination by 2030, are only likely to be achieved if a substantial improvement in treated bed net usage is achieved, coupled with targeted deployment of indoor residual spraying with high community acceptability and efficacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane F. Namuganga ◽  
Adrienne Epstein ◽  
Joaniter I. Nankabirwa ◽  
Arthur Mpimbaza ◽  
Moses Kiggundu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe scale-up of malaria control efforts has led to marked reductions in malaria burden over the past twenty years, but progress has slowed. Implementation of indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticide, a proven vector control intervention, has been limited and difficult to sustain partly because questions remain on its added impact over widely accepted interventions such as bed nets. Using data from 14 enhanced surveillance health facilities in Uganda, a country with high bed net coverage yet high malaria burden, we estimate the impact of starting and stopping IRS on changes in malaria incidence. We show that stopping IRS was associated with a 5-fold increase in malaria incidence within 10 months, but reinstating IRS was associated with an over 5-fold decrease within 8 months. In areas where IRS was initiated and sustained, malaria incidence dropped by 85% after year 4. IRS could play a critical role in achieving global malaria targets, particularly in areas where progress has stalled.


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