The consequences of declining population access to insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) on net use patterns and physical degradation of nets after 22 months of ownership.

Background: As insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) wear out and are disposed, some household members are prioritized to use remaining ITNs. This study assessed how nets are allocated within households to individuals of different age categories as ITNs are lost or damaged and as new ITNs are obtained. The study also explored how ITN allocation affects ITN durability.

Sustaining LLIN coverage with continuous distribution: the school net programme in Tanzania.

Most malaria-endemic countries have struggled in the past decade to establish effective national-scale continuous distribution mechanisms for long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). Since the implementation of the Tanzania National Voucher Scheme in 2004 and mass-distribution campaigns in 2009-2011 and 2015-2016, Tanzania has been committed to finding new and innovative ways of achieving and maintaining universal bed net coverage. Planning for the School Net Programme (SNP) began in 2011 and in 2013, the country piloted a SNP in three regions.

Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in asymptomatic children in western Kenya.

Background: Studies on Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte development and dynamics have almost exclusively focused on patients treated with antimalarial drugs, while the majority of parasite carriers in endemic areas are asymptomatic. This study identified factors that influence gametocytaemia in asymptomatic children in the absence and presence of pyrimethamine-sulphadoxine (SP) antimalarial treatment.

Methods: A cohort of 526 children (6 months-16 years) from western Kenya was screened for asexual parasites and gametocytes and followed weekly up to four weeks.