Combining house-screening and odour-baited mosquito traps for sustainable control of malaria transmission in low-income communities dominated by Anopheles Funestus

Tanzania has reduced the malaria burden by over 50% since 2008, primarily thanks to insecticide treated nets and effective medicines, but numerous challenges remain. However, in south-eastern Tanzania, pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles Funestus (mediating >80% of transmission,) and outdoor-biting Anopheles arabiensis, are compromising the gains. The situation is worse for low income families, who despite improvements of livelihoods across Tanzania, and many low-income households, still live in poorly-constructed houses with gaps on eaves, doors and windows.

To achieve the 2020 national target of 2% prevalence, and thereafter elimination, Tanzania urgently needs complementary tools. House-screening can reduce indoor-biting and malaria burden, but is hardly scaled-up because available epidemiological evidence is considered inadequate; and diverted mosquitoes can bite others. Besides, full house-screening (of windows, eaves and doors) is impractical where rural households keep doors open in evenings. Introducing effective mosquito trapping in these settings could potentially increase households-level and communal-level protection even for non-users.

Indeed, odour-baited traps targeting An. funestus previously reduced malaria prevalence by 28.9% in western Kenya. The study intends to demonstrate that combining house-screening and odour baited traps can significantly improve protection in rural Tanzania communities dominated by An funestus.

The study will first optimize the intervention package inside semi-field cages against laboratory reared mosquitoes then evaluate it ij field settings. This approach will provide complementary, eco-friendly and non-insecticidal options for low incomes families