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Despite successes shown by long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) in the reduction of malaria in Africa, there remains a significant amount of residual transmission even in areas where net coverage is above 80%, partly because a significant proportion of malaria transmission in many communities now occurs outdoors. Outdoor mosquito control devices, which can lure and kill disease transmitting mosquitoes outside human dwellings, have been proposed as potential complementary interventions, to be used alongside the LLINs and IRS. However, the lack of locally available and cheap mosquito lures to be use incorporated inside the devices has hampered the implementation of this strategy. This study was therefore aimed at evaluating low-cost and locally-sourced mosquito attractants and long lasting dispensing tools for use in outdoor mosquito control devices. Incubated cow urine and fermented milk were selected and comparatively evaluated and validated against a synthetic odor blend, known to be significantly more attractive to mosquitoes than humans. A low cost cartridge made of bamboo stems and a molded clay tube were developed and comparatively evaluated against a previously used dispensing method (nylon strips). The experiments were conducted both under field settings and inside a screen house (semi-field system) Although fermented milk and incubated cow urine were less effective than the synthetic blend, they attracted a considerable number of mosquitoes, and were in all cases significantly more attractive than the controls. The efficacy of bamboo cartridge and clay tube in dispensing fermented milk and incubated cow urine was higher than nylon strips. Whenever the tools were used to dispense incubated cow urine or the fermented milk, they were less efficient than the nylon strips. These studies also showed that the two dispensing tools i.e. bamboo cartridge and clay tube when used as indoor mosquito control devices can remain effective for 2–3 weeks without replacement. Fermented milk and incubated cow urine can be used effectively in mosquito control traps as cheap, environmentally friendly and locally available attractants. Bamboo cartridge and clay tube can also be used as cheap and locally available attractants in outdoor mosquito control devices. |
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