The effect of novel mosquito bite prevention tools on Anopheles minimus landing and key secondary endpoints: semi-field evaluations in Thailand.

Background: The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) aims to eliminate all human malaria by 2030 and is making substantial progress toward this goal, with malaria increasingly confined to forest foci. These transmission foci are predominantly inhabited by ethnic minorities, local populations, and rural mobile and migrant populations working in mining and agriculture. The recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on malaria elimination states that small population groups which constitute a large proportion of the malaria transmission reservoir should benefit from targeted strategies to reduce transmission overall.

AnophelesModel: An R package to interface mosquito bionomics, human exposure and intervention effects with models of malaria intervention impact.

In recent decades, field and semi-field studies of malaria transmission have gathered geographic-specific information about mosquito ecology, behaviour and their sensitivity to interventions. Mathematical models of malaria transmission can incorporate such data to infer the likely impact of vector control interventions and hence guide malaria control strategies in various geographies. To facilitate this process and make model predictions of intervention impact available for different geographical regions, we developed AnophelesModel.

Field evaluation of a volatile pyrethroid spatial repellent and etofenprox treated clothing for outdoor protection against forest malaria vectors in Cambodia.

Cambodia's goal to eliminate malaria by 2025 is challenged by persistent transmission in forest and forest fringe areas, where people are exposed to Anopheles mosquito bites during the day and night. Volatile pyrethroid spatial repellents (VPSRs) and insecticide-treated clothing (ITC) could address these gaps. This study evaluated the outdoor application of one passive transfluthrin-based VPSR, four etofenprox-ITCs paired with a picaridin topical repellent, and a combination of VPSR and ITC against wild Anopheles landing in Cambodia.

Evaluating human landing catches as a measure of mosquito biting and the importance of considering additional modes of action.

Entomological evaluations of vector control tools often use human landing catches (HLCs) as a standard measure of a direct human-vector contact. However, some tools have additional characteristics, such as mortality, and HLCS are not sensitive for measuring other effects beyond landing inhibition. Therefore, additional measures may need to be considered when evaluating these tools for public health use.

Accelerating Progress Towards the 2030 Neglected Tropical Diseases Targets: How Can Quantitative Modeling Support Programmatic Decisions?

Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in the control, elimination, and eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Despite these advances, most NTD programs have recently experienced important setbacks; for example, NTD interventions were some of the most frequently and severely impacted by service disruptions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mathematical modeling can help inform selection of interventions to meet the targets set out in the NTD road map 2021-2030, and such studies should prioritize questions that are relevant for decision-makers, especially those designing, implementing, and evaluating national and subnational programs.