The control of Mosquitoes and, namely, associated vector borne diseases is an area of primary focus of Intelligent Insect Control.
The means applied to this end have always been innovative and with respect for the users and the enviroment in which they are applied. These include control of mosquito population in urban areas, personal protective devices, such as Long Lasting Impregnated Mosquito nets, impregnated tarpualins for camps, paint and delivering knowledge and consulting services to initiatives by governments, NGOs and other private organisations.
Articles:
"Decreased motivation in the use of insecticide-treated nets in a malaria endemic area in Burkina Faso", Lea Pare Toe, Ole Skovmand, Kounbobr Roch Dabire, Abdoulaye Diabate, Yveline Diallo, Tinga Robert Guiguemde, Julien Marie Christian Doannio, Martin Akogbeto, Thierry Baldet and Marc-Eric Gruenais. Malaria Journal 2009, 8:175doi:10.1186/1475-2875-8-175, 29 July 2009
The use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) is an important tool in the Roll Back Malaria strategy. For ITNs to be effective they need to be used correctly. Previous studies have shown that many factors, such as wealth, access to health care, education, ethnicity and gender, determine the ownership and use of ITNs. Some studies showed that free distribution and public awareness campaigns increased the rate of use. However, there have been no evaluations of the short- and long-term impact of such motivation campaigns. A study carried out in a malaria endemic area in south-western Burkina Faso indicated that this increased use declined after several months. The reasons were a combination of the community representation of malaria, the perception of the effectiveness and usefulness of ITNs and also the manner in which households are organized by day and by night.
Link to article @ Malariajournal
"Impact of Slow-Release Bacillus sphaericus Granules on Mosquito Populations Followed in a Tropical Urban Environment", Skovmand, Ole; Ouedraogo, Thierry D. A.; Sanogo, Edith; Samuelsen, Helle; Toé, Lea P.; Baldet, Thierry. Journal of Medical Entomology, Volume 46, Number 1, January 2009 , pp. 67-76(10)
A floating, slow-release, granular formulation of Bacillus sphaericus (Neide) was used to control mosquito larvae in two suburban areas of two tropical cities: Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. A circular area of 2 km2, diameter 1,600 m, was treated in each city using a similar, smaller area 1 km away as an untreated control. Mosquito captures were made in houses in four concentric circles, from the periphery to the center; each circle was 50 m in width. Mosquitoes were captured in CDC light traps or from human landings. More than 95% of the mosquitoes were Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae). The human landing catches provided twice as many mosquitoes as did the CDC traps/night/house. The treatments resulted in important reductions relative to the control area and to preintervention captures. The reduction was more prominent in the inner circle (up to 90%) than in the outer circle (50-70%), presumably because of the impact of immigrating mosquitoes from nontreated breeding sites around the intervention area. This effect was more pronounced for light trap catches than from human landings. The impact of treatment was also measured as the mean ratio of mosquito density in the two outer circles to that of the two inner circles. This ratio was ∼1:1 before the intervention and reached 1:0.43 during the intervention. This comparison does not depend on the assumption that, in the absence of intervention, the mosquito population development in the two areas would have been identical, but does depend on the homogeneity of the intervention area. The study showed that it is possible to organize mosquito control in a tropical, urban environment by forming and rapidly training teams of young people to carry out the mosquito control mostly using a biopesticide that can be applied without any tools except an iron bar to lift lids on some cesspits.
Link to article @ Journal of Medical Entomology
"Median knock-down time as a new method for evaluating insecticide-treated textiles for mosquito control", Ole Skovmand, Julien Bonnet, Olivier Pigeon and Vincent Corbel, Malaria Journal 2008, 7:114
Insecticide treated bed nets are major tools for the Roll Back Malaria campaign. There are two types of Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated Nets (LNs) on the market: coated nets and insecticide-incorporated nets. Nets provided to this market need a recommendation from the World Health Organization to be purchased by donors and NGOs. During laboratory study (phase I), the first step consists in evaluating the wash resistance of a new LN product. When insecticide-incorporated nets are washed, it takes time to regenerate the insecticidal activity, i.e. insecticide must migrate to the net surface to be accessible to mosquitoes. The interval of time required for regeneration must be carefully determined to ensure the accuracy of further results. WHOPES procedures currently recommend the determination of the regeneration time by using mortality data. However, as mortality cannot exceed 100%, a LN that regenerates a surface concentration exceeding the dosage for 100% mortality, will have its regeneration time underestimated.
The present article presents a new way to measure regeneration time. This method is recommended especially for following changes in surface concentrations of insecticide treated materials. Linearity of the method is documented for coated nets as for a commercial insecticide incorporated net. For LNs, the method provides a complementary and reliable way in determining regeneration time after washing.
Link to article @ Malaria Journal
"Microbial control in Southeast Asia", Ole Skovmand, Invertebrate Pathology, volume 95, Iss 3, July 2007
Abstract - Link to download (payment required for some)
Beginning in the 1980s, concerns about the deleterious effects of synthetic pesticides have driven a significant Southeast Asian research and development effort directed towards alternative pest control strategies, including the use of microbial control agents. Despite this effort, use of microbial control agents has grown slowly in the region. This is the result of an interplay between internal factors such as economics, national research programs, farmer education, manufacturing capabilities and regulatory frameworks, and external factors such as the influence of neighboring countries (particularly China), the availability of competitive pest control products, import regulations on pesticide residues and the activities of donor agencies. The role of these factors in providing both incentives and barriers to the adoption of microbial control are explored, and examples of promising projects are examined as a means of pointing the way forward towards increased progress in the future.
"Personal protection of long lasting insecticide-treated nets in areas of Anopheles gambiae s.s. resistance to pyrethroids", Roch K Dabiré1, Abdoulaye Diabaté1, Thierry Baldet, Léa Paré-Toé, Robert T Guiguemdé, Jean-Bosco Ouédraogo1, and Ole Skovmand. Malaria Journal 2006, 5:12
The development of mosquito nets pre-treated with insecticide, Long Lasting Impregnated Nets (LLINs) that last the life span of the net, is a solution to the difficulty of the re-impregnation of conventional nets. Even if they showed a good efficacy in control conditions, their efficacy in the field, particularly in areas with resistance of Anopheles gambiae to pyrethroids, is not well documented. This study compares wide (Olyset®) and small (Permanet®) mesh LLINs in field conditions, using entomological parameter.
Link to article on Malaria Journal
"Prevention of mosquito nuisance among urban populations in Burkina Faso", Helle Samuelsen, Léa Paré Toé, Thierry Baldet and Ole Skovmand, Social Science & Medicine Volume 59, Issue 11, December 2004, Pages 2361-2371
Abstract - Link to download (payment required for some)
This paper addresses the problems of mosquito control in urban areas of Burkina Faso. The main objectives are to examine relevant socio-cultural aspects in relation to a mosquito control intervention using a biolarvicide with main emphasis on local perceptions of mosquito nuisance and existing practices of mosquito control, including the cost of protective measures at household level. This is the report of an inter-disciplinary research project carried out in the two major towns of Burkina Faso, Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou, in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the ethnographic part of the study. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted in both study areas: one prior to the intervention (n=1083) and the other after the intervention of the treatments with bio-larvicide (n=956). In addition, 70 in-depth interviews and 17 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. The findings show that mosquitoes are considered an important problem in the urban areas, both as a nuisance and a health risk and that the local population is very active in applying mosquito control measures at the household level. The intervention project was received positively by the local population with a decline in the perceived level of annoyance. The causal relationship between mosquitoes and malaria is clear, but the explanatory framework of the relationship between mosquitoes and other diseases is still under debate. The most common prevention methods are mosquito coils and aerosol spray, even though bed nets are perceived to be the most efficient and effective method. The investments in coils and aerosol sprays alone would mean an increase of 40% in the national figures for health expenditure at household level.
