TITLE:
Field evaluation of KO-Tab 1-2-3® long lasting insecticidal net performance in Milenge, Zambia
AUTHORS:
Emmanuel Chanda, Alister Kandyata, Javan Chanda, Pascalina Chanda-Kapata
KEYWORDS:
Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets; Malaria Vector Control; Field Evaluation; Zambia
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.6 No.7A,
July
17,
2013
ABSTRACT: Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) play a pivotal role in the prevention and control of malaria. Conversely, inadequate levels of ownership, utilization and durability invariably compromise their efficacy. Operational performance of the KO-Tab 1-2-3 Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) was assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) standard entomological and epidemiological procedures, and a pretested structured questionnaire. The median knock down time for Anopheles funestus s.l. was 30 minutes (95% CI 26.3 - 34.0). Post exposure mean mortality rates were 34% at one hour and 80.0% at 24 hours (OR = 0.13, P = 0.00002). Children between the ages of 1 - 4 years old exhibited higher false positives as compared to the 5 - 15 years age groups (OR = 0.10, P = 0.0006). Parasite prevalence varied between rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) (40.4%) and microscopy (31.3%) (OR = 0.67, P = 0.2825) with 9.2% discordant RDT false positives. All malaria positive children were Plasmodium falciparum mono-infections. Hospital admissions reduced by 28% between 2005 and 2008, with case fatality rates reducing by 19% between 2006 and2007 inchildren under five years. No marked heterogeneity between LLINs ownership (66%) and utilization (48.3%) was observed (OR = 0.49, P = 0.0978). There was complete (100%) community level knowledge of KO-Tab 1-2-3 LLINs. The study provides evidence of potential of KO-Tab 1-2-3 LLINs for operational scale distribution, and substantiates the need for further longitudinal studies to monitor their insecticidal and physical durability.