Eave tubes for malaria control in Africa: an introduction.

In spite of massive progress in the control of African malaria since the turn of the century, there is a clear and recognized need for additional tools beyond long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticides, to progress towards elimination. Moreover, widespread and intensifying insecticide resistance requires alternative control agents and delivery systems to enable development of effective insecticide resistance management strategies. This series of articles presents a novel concept for malaria vector control, the 'eave tube', which may fulfil these important criteria. From its conceptualization to laboratory and semi-field testing, to demonstration of potential for implementation, the stepwise development of this new vector control approach is described. These studies suggest eave tubes (which comprise a novel way of delivering insecticides plus screening to make the house more 'mosquito proof') could be a viable, cost-effective, and acceptable control tool for endophilic and endophagic anophelines, and possibly other (nuisance) mosquitoes. The approach could be applicable in a wide variety of housing in sub-Saharan Africa, and possibly beyond, for vectors that use the eave as their primary house entry point. The results presented in these articles were generated during an EU-FP7 funded project, the mosquito contamination device (MCD) project, which ran between 2012 and 2015. This was a collaborative project undertaken by vector biologists, product developers, modellers, materials scientists, and entrepreneurs from five different countries.

Electrostatic coating enhances bioavailability of insecticides and breaks pyrethroid resistance in mosquitoes.

Insecticide resistance poses a significant and increasing threat to the control of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. We present a novel method of insecticide application based on netting treated with an electrostatic coating that binds insecticidal particles through polarity. Electrostatic netting can hold small amounts of insecticides effectively and results in enhanced bioavailability upon contact by the insect. Six pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles mosquito strains from across Africa were exposed to similar concentrations of deltamethrin on electrostatic netting or a standard long-lasting deltamethrin-coated bednet (PermaNet 2.0). Standard WHO exposure bioassays showed that electrostatic netting induced significantly higher mortality rates than the PermaNet, thereby effectively breaking mosquito resistance. Electrostatic netting also induced high mortality in resistant mosquito strains when a 15-fold lower dose of deltamethrin was applied and when the exposure time was reduced to only 5 s. Because different types of particles adhere to electrostatic netting, it is also possible to apply nonpyrethroid insecticides. Three insecticide classes were effective against strains of Aedes and Culex mosquitoes, demonstrating that electrostatic netting can be used to deploy a wide range of active insecticides against all major groups of disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Promising applications include the use of electrostatic coating on walls or eave curtains and in trapping/contamination devices. We conclude that application of electrostatically adhered particles boosts the efficacy of WHO-recommended insecticides even against resistant mosquitoes. This innovative technique has potential to support the use of unconventional insecticide classes or combinations thereof, potentially offering a significant step forward in managing insecticide resistance in vector-control operations.

Development and evaluation of a novel contamination device that targets multiple life-stages of Aedes aegypti.

BACKGROUND: The increasing global threat of Dengue demands new and easily applicable vector control methods. Ovitraps provide a low-tech and inexpensive means to combat Dengue vectors. Here we describe the development and optimization process of a novel contamination device that targets multiple life-stages of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Special focus is directed to the diverse array of control agents deployed in this trap, covering adulticidal, larvicidal and autodissemination impacts. METHODS: Different trap prototypes and their parts are described, including a floater to contaminate alighting gravid mosquitoes. The attractiveness of the trap, different odor lures and floater design were studied using fluorescent powder adhering to mosquito legs and via choice tests. We demonstrate the mosquitocidal impacts of the control agents: a combination of the larvicide pyriproxyfen and the adulticidal fungus Beauveria bassiana. The impact of pyriproxyfen was determined in free-flight dissemination experiments. The effect on larval development inside the trap and in surrounding breeding sites was measured, as well as survival impacts on recaptured adults. RESULTS: The developmental process resulted in a design that consists of a black 3 Liter water-filled container with a ring-shaped floater supporting vertically placed gauze dusted with the control agents. On average, 90% of the mosquitoes in the fluorescence experiments made contact with the gauze on the floater. Studies on attractants indicated that a yeast-containing tablet was the most attractive odor lure. Furthermore, the fungus Beauveria bassiana was able to significantly increase mortality of the free-flying adults compared to controls. Dissemination of pyriproxyfen led to >90% larval mortality in alternative breeding sites and 100% larval mortality in the trap itself, against a control mortality of around 5%. CONCLUSION: This ovitrap is a promising new tool in the battle against Dengue. It has proven to be attractive to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and effective in contaminating these with Beauveria bassiana. Furthermore, we show that the larvicide pyriproxyfen is successfully disseminated to breeding sites close to the trap. Its low production and operating costs enable large scale deployment in Dengue-affected locations.