A new malaria study, evaluating the effectiveness of insecticide-treated eave ribbons and sandals as additional interventions against indoor-outdoor-biting mosquitoes, has proved both interventions to be effective at reducing mosquito bites.

Scientists involved in the study say, the two interventions could potentially be useful in areas where there is already high coverage of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) but require additional protection against early-evening and outdoor-biting mosquitoes.

The scientists from Tanzania and Brazil, used Transfluthrin – a repellent insecticide, generally used for the control of mosquitoes in the household – around eaves of houses and on sandals. The results showed that Transfluthrin-treated eave ribbons and sandals or their combination offered significant household-level protection against malaria vectors.

“Efforts should be made to improve the designs of the eave ribbons and sandals, and future studies should evaluate their impact and feasibility for complementing current front-line malaria control interventions at a larger scale,” recommend the scientists in their findings published in the Malaria Journal on February 4, 2023.

“Early-evening and outdoor-biting mosquitoes may compromise the effectiveness of frontline malaria interventions, notably (ITNs). Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low-cost insecticide-treated eave ribbons and sandals as supplementary interventions against indoor-biting and outdoor-biting mosquitoes in south-eastern Tanzania, where ITNs are already widely used,” the scientists elaborated in the paper.

The study publication’s first author is Arnold Mmbando from Ifakara Health Institute. Other contributors to the study from Ifakara include Winifrida Mponzi, Halfan Nqowo, Khamis Kifungo, Robert Kasubiri, Rukiyah Njalambaha, Tegemeo Gavana, Marceline Finda, Onyango Sangoro, and Fredros Okumu. The Ifakara group worked with Alvaro Eiras and Elis Batista from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

>> Read article: https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-023-04476-8