Last Updated: 24/02/2015
Portable exposure-free huts to protect itinerant rice farmers from mosquito-borne illnesses
Objectives
The main objective of this project is to develop a portable and low-cost mosquito- proof hut design that can protect itinerant rice farmers from infectious mosquito bites and mosquito-borne illnesses, during the period when they are at their rice fields.
Specific objectives:
- To quantify actual mosquito biting exposure in the temporary farm houses currently used by these itinerant rice farmers while out in their farms, relative to biting exposure in the main houses used in actual home villages
- To assess views, experiences and behaviours of the itinerant rice farmers regarding mosquito-borne illnesses such as malaria and their preferred options of controlling such illnesses and mosquito bites
- Design and construct a prototype portable exposure-free hut, using durable materials available in Tanzania and technologies already developed at Ifakara Health Institute
- Demonstrate that the prototype exposure-free huts can reduce mosquito bites and transmission of mosquito-borne illnesses.
Existing malaria control interventions improved living standards and urbanization have achieved a significant level of success achieving 50% or more reduction in malaria prevalence. In Tanzania, efforts to control malaria resulted in the halving of Plasmodium falciparum malaria prevalence in the period between 2000 and 2010. In most communities, what now remains is a significantly reduced amount of persistent residual transmission. The challenge now is that this residual transmission is no longer as responsive to the forefront malaria prevention measures as before, meaning that some additional new tools would be required to bridge the gaps and drive transmission to zero.
Disenfranchised communities, such as itinerant farming households will need to be targeted, so as to improve existing protective coverage and ensure lower quantities of potential transmission reservoirs. The exposure free houses, if used appropriately will be essential in ensuring that even where the effectiveness of our current best preventive options is compromised, we can still provide an adequate level of transmission prevention especially to the disenfranchised.
Jun 2013 — Jan 2015
$109,394
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