Does antibiotic awareness campaigns exposure decrease intention to demand antibiotic treatment? Testing a structural model among parents in Western Australia.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the key public health concerns the world is facing today. The effect of antibiotic awareness campaigns (AACs) on consumer behaviour has been documented in the literature with mixed results. Understanding the mechanism for how AACs affect target populations is vital in designing effective and tailored campaigns. Using structural equation modelling our study examined the relationships among people's exposure to antibiotic awareness campaigns, knowledge of AMR prevention, AMR risk perception, and intention to seek antibiotic treatment. This study also tested the moderating effect of anxiety and societal responsibility on preventing AMR, and on their intention to demand antibiotic treatment mediated by knowledge of AMR prevention and risk-perception. Primary data was generated using an online survey of 250 Western Australian parents. We tested our hypotheses using reliability and validity tests and structural equation modelling. Our results show that exposure to AACs alone may not be enough to change parental intention to demand antibiotic prescription for their children. Parental risk perception of AMR and parental anxiety affect intention to demand antibiotics, and the view that AMR is a social responsibility has a moderating effect on intention to demand antibiotics. These factors could be considered and combine messaging strategies in designing future antibiotic awareness campaigns.

Influence of Location and Distance of Biogents Sentinel™ Traps From Human-Occupied Experimental Huts On Aedes aegypti Recapture and Entry Into Huts.

A mark-release-recapture study was conducted to refine the "push-pull" strategy for controlling the dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus vector Aedes aegypti in a peridomestic environment by determining optimal locations and distances from human-occupied experimental huts for placement of the "pull" component (Biogents Sentinel™ [BGS] traps) to maximize the capture of mosquitoes. The BGS traps were placed at portals of entry (windows or doors) or corners of the experimental huts and at varying distances from the huts (0, 3, and 10 m). The location optimization trials revealed higher trap capture rates and reduction in entry of mosquitoes when the BGS traps were positioned nearer the experimental hut portals of entry than those placed in the corner of the huts. The trap capture rate at huts' portals of entry was 38.7% (116/300), while the corners recorded 23.7% (71/300). The percentage reduction in entry of mosquitoes into the huts was 69% and 31% at portals of entry and corners or vertices, respectively. In the distance optimization trials, the highest captures were recorded at 0 m (18.5%; 111/600) and 10 m (14.2%; 128/900) distances from the hut. Moreover, the highest percentage reduction in entry of mosquitoes into the huts occurred for traps set at 0 m (65.6%) compared with 3 m (17.2%) or 10 m (14.6%) distances from the huts.

BG-Sentinel™ Trap Efficacy As A Component of Proof-Of-Concept For Push-Pull Control Strategy For Dengue Vector Mosquitoes.

The efficacy of the BG-Sentinel™ (BGS) trap as a "pull" component of a "push-pull" system (PPS) for management of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti, was evaluated using local households in Pu Tuey, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The pull component was the concluding phase of a 3-part investigation using a PPS combination spatial repellent (SR) and BGS trap to capture adult vector mosquitoes. Two sentinel households were selected for evaluation of BGS trap efficacy based on the highest pretrial indoor resting densities of Ae. aegypti using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mechanical backpack collections. Potential Ae. aegypti resting sites around the selected houses were identified as possible competing sites that might influence the BGS trap capture efficiency. Results showed that BGS traps were productive in capturing Ae. aegypti females (93.4% of all Aedes collected) in the presence of competing man-made, artificial resting sites. The CDC backpack aspirator collections provided an indirect measure of local Aedes population, although technically not comparable for supporting productivity of BGS traps due to different collection days and households sampled. The predominant competing resting sites were water containers found within 3 m around the outside of sentinel households. The most productive BGS collections between houses differed by location. The most productive period of operation for Ae. aegypti BGS trapping was between 1330 and 1730 h. The BGS trap appears an effective "pull" device in the PPS strategy in natural settings.