Generic Portal

TY - JOUR

T1 - Community Participation in Habitat Management and Larviciding for the Control of Malaria Vectors in Southern Malawi

AU - Gowelo, Steven

AU - Meijer, Paola

AU - Tizifa, Tinashe

AU - Malenga, Tumaini

AU - Mburu, Monicah M.

AU - Kabaghe, Alinune N.

AU - Terlouw, Dianne J.

AU - van Vugt, Michèle

AU - Phiri, Kamija S.

AU - Mzilahowa, Themba

AU - Koenraadt, Constantianus J. M.

AU - van den Berg, Henk

AU - Manda-Taylor, Lucinda

AU - McCann, Robert S.

AU - Takken, Willem

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgments: The De Vos Fund, The Netherlands, generously supported the study. We also thank the Dioraphte Foundation, Dor-drecht, the Netherlands, for financial support. The content is solely the authors’ responsibility and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. R. S. M. received additional support from the NIH (T32AI007524 and K01TW011770). We thank Prosper Chaki for his role in field training on Bti application to both the larval source management committees and the research team. We thank all the research assistants for their support in data collection. We acknowledge the logistical support rendered by Davies Kazembe, Happy Chongwe, Asante Kadama, Richard Nkhata, and Tinashe Tizifa. We also thank the people in the study area for their willingness to participate in the study. Funding Information: The De Vos Fund, The Netherlands, generously supported the study. We also thank the Dioraphte Foundation, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, for financial support. The content is solely the authors' responsibility and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. R. S. M. received additional support from the NIH (T32AI007524 and K01TW011770). We thank Prosper Chaki for his role in field training on Bti application to both the larval source management committees and the research team. We thank all the research assistants for their support in data collection. We acknowledge the logistical support rendered by Davies Kazembe, Happy Chongwe, Asante Kadama, Richard Nkhata, and Tinashe Tizifa. We also thank the people in the study area for their willingness to participate in the study. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 The author(s)

PY - 2023/1/11

Y1 - 2023/1/11

N2 - Larval source management (LSM) could reduce malaria transmission when executed alongside core vector control strategies. Involving communities in LSM could increase intervention coverage, reduce operational costs, and promote sustainability via community buy-in. We assessed the effectiveness of community-led LSM to reduce anopheline larval densities in 26 villages along the perimeter of Majete Wildlife Reserve in southern Malawi. The communities formed LSM committees which coordinated LSM activities in their villages following specialized training. Effectiveness of larviciding by LSM committees was assessed via pre- and post-spray larval sampling. The effect of community-led LSM on anopheline larval densities in intervention villages was assessed via comparisons with densities in non-LSM villages over a period of 14 months. Surveys involving 502 respondents were undertaken in intervention villages to explore community motivation and participation, and factors influencing these outcomes. Larviciding by LSM committees reduced anopheline larval densities in post-spray sampling compared with pre-spray sampling (P, 0.0001). No differences were observed between anopheline larval densities during pre-spray sampling in LSM villages and those in non-LSM villages (P 5 0.282). Knowledge about vector biology and control, and someone's role in LSM motivated community participation in the vector control program. Despite reducing anopheline larval densities in LSM villages, the impact of the community-led LSM could not be detected in our study setting because of low mosquito densities after scale-up of core malaria control interventions. Still, the contributions of the intervention in increasing a community's knowledge of malaria, its risk factors, and its control methods highlight potential benefits of the approach.

AB - Larval source management (LSM) could reduce malaria transmission when executed alongside core vector control strategies. Involving communities in LSM could increase intervention coverage, reduce operational costs, and promote sustainability via community buy-in. We assessed the effectiveness of community-led LSM to reduce anopheline larval densities in 26 villages along the perimeter of Majete Wildlife Reserve in southern Malawi. The communities formed LSM committees which coordinated LSM activities in their villages following specialized training. Effectiveness of larviciding by LSM committees was assessed via pre- and post-spray larval sampling. The effect of community-led LSM on anopheline larval densities in intervention villages was assessed via comparisons with densities in non-LSM villages over a period of 14 months. Surveys involving 502 respondents were undertaken in intervention villages to explore community motivation and participation, and factors influencing these outcomes. Larviciding by LSM committees reduced anopheline larval densities in post-spray sampling compared with pre-spray sampling (P, 0.0001). No differences were observed between anopheline larval densities during pre-spray sampling in LSM villages and those in non-LSM villages (P 5 0.282). Knowledge about vector biology and control, and someone's role in LSM motivated community participation in the vector control program. Despite reducing anopheline larval densities in LSM villages, the impact of the community-led LSM could not be detected in our study setting because of low mosquito densities after scale-up of core malaria control interventions. Still, the contributions of the intervention in increasing a community's knowledge of malaria, its risk factors, and its control methods highlight potential benefits of the approach.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146193728&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.4269/ajtmh.21-1127

DO - 10.4269/ajtmh.21-1127

M3 - Article

C2 - 36410320

VL - 108

SP - 51

EP - 60

JO - American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

JF - American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

SN - 0002-9637

IS - 1

ER -