Mosquito/Malaria Control (9)
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Hi all?
I agree with Bill on the difficulty of using ITNs on a popula-
tion that stays outdoors late in the evenings. How about the
vulnerable groups, i.e. children under 5 and pregnant mothers?
Don't you think it could work? I think it is mostly the life-
style of men who sit around outdoors in the evenings. What about
the deterrence and area-wide effects of sustained ITN-use?
Another aspect might also be the reduction in the life-
expectancy of the vectors as a result of exposure and conse-
quently the reduction in vectorial capacity with time.
I think Hussein is right on the biting pattern which I believe
may vary from locations, but studies have also shown that ITNs
may shift this biting pattern.
Thanks.
Maurice R. Odiere
M.Sc Student
CDC-Entomology section
P.0.Box 1578
Kisumu,Kenya
Tel : +254-572-022-902(Office)
Cell: +254-721-845 777
mailto:modiere@ke.cdc.gov
Mosquito/Malaria Control (11)
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Hi Maurice,
In your last e-mail you said that some studies have shown that
bednets may change the anopheles biting pattern. I believe this
could well be true. If the female cannot take the required blood
meal, her eggs won't become viable. This would likely pass on
(genetically) different feeding habits in those mosquitoes that
succeed in getting the necessary blood meal. If you could send
me any more info on these studies it would be greatly appreci-
ated.
Thanks,
Bill Nesler
mailto:sdbc@hur.midco.net
Mosquito/Malaria Control (13)
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Bill,
Are you baiting this guy or what? Changing the feeding habits of
the anopheles w/bednets, what's next, bednet brain surgery?
Craig Audiss
mailto:cybrcollectinc@yahoo.com
Mosquito/Malaria Control (14)
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Baiting the guy or not, I think as Dr. Siddiqi suggested ear-
lier, the debate must go beyond bednets. We certainly need to
understand the breeding and feeding (blood-sucking) behaviour of
the anopheles mosquito as well, and Bill was right to ask. We
also must adopt more radical ways of effective control that have
been applied elsewhere, but still denied us. We must remove the
politics of self-interest (economic or other) from clouding our
efforts.
John Arube-Wani
Child Health and Development Centre
Makerere University Medical School
P.O Box 6717
Kampala, Uganda
mailto:arube@chdc-muk.com
CHDC Website: http://www.chdc-muk.com
Mosquito/Malaria Control (18)
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Dear all,
I think, what is needed to eradicate malaria is cleanliness and
hygiene within and outside a house and neighbourhood. No stag-
nant water anywhere should be the policy.
I am sure, there are local herbs, when dried and burnt can kill
mosquitoes or at least drive them away. I am not promoting pol-
lution.
Mosquito net is not any new or great solution, except to promote
mosquito net sales and thereby profit a few businesses. They are
cumbersome to use and people feel suffocated inside, more par-
ticularly in tropical climates.
Kris Dev
masilto:krisdev@gmail.com
Mosquito/Malaria Control (21)
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People, people...! What's all this hullabaloo about spraying and
its benefits vis a vis mosquito nets?
There is no doubt in my mind that spraying has helped eradicate
malaria in many areas in the world and that it has a role in the
control of mosquitoes, However we need to ask ourselves a few
questions first and even better take note of Prof. Paula's mail-
ing earlier.
1) Is the population distribution in the countries that used
spraying effectively the same as that in Africa?
2) How cost effective is it to spray in Africa where the major-
ity of people don't even have any "walls" to talk about let
alone the quality of houses?
3) Or are we suggesting that we spray all the bushes and whole
countries? People let's get more serious here! I for one support
the spraying of insecticides in highly epidemic prone areas as
proposed in Uganda and then the use of nets and better avoidance
and hygiene... this is what we in Uganda can AFFORD and
SUSTAIN... all those hypothetical programmes are really good but
how far can we sustain them?
4) In Africa whose climate rain patterns and many animals how
many insect breeding places can you larvicide considering that
Anopheles breeds even in the HOOF PRINT of a cow?
5) All the countries that have eliminated mosquitoes using
spraying are at the limits of the transmission belts and the
populations are mainly urban... does this say anything to anyone
out there?
However much we want to eliminate malaria and are frustrated by
the slow pace of things lets stay rational and not go into in-
dustry bashing because all the products used either in spraying
or in nets are produced by the same people.
Isaac Kigozi
mailto:kigoziisaac76@yahoo.co.uk