Geneva, 02 Sept-(ANA)-The risk that children will become infected with malaria can be substantially reduced through a novel combination of measures to kill mosquito larvae and the use of insecticide-treated nets (ITN), the World Health Organisation, WHO, has said.
Dr Ulrike Fillinger, lead author of a study into the effect of combining vector control with microbial larvicides and ITNs, found that anti-larval measures proved to be a promising complement to ITN distribution in western Kenya.
“A marked increase in malaria has recently been noted in the African highlands, largely due to the rise of drug-resistant strains of malaria parasites and land-use changes,” Fillinger said.
“Our findings suggest that vector (mosquito) control in Africa targeting all stages of the mosquito life-cycle – including the larva stage – can be a highly effective tool for reducing malaria in the future in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.” (ANA)