QUESTION

Why is there no mention here of all the work being done on biolarvicides – the low cost solution for malaria control?

ANSWER

Actually, we had a question a while ago about the ECOWAS program in West Africa, which centers around the use of biolarvicides. A link to that question, and the answer, is provided here: http://www.malaria.com/questions/ecowas-malaria.

The most common form of biolarvicides are those using various microbes, notably Bacillus species, which target mosquito larvae but are harmless to other non-target organisms. A recent study in the Gambia showed very high success rates in killing Anopheles gambiae larvae, when a microbial larvicide using Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis strain AM65-52 was applied weekly. Some practitioners are concerned about the amount of effort and man-power a weekly application of larvicide might require, plus the training necessary for correct identification of habitat, but the study in the Gambia seemed to show good compliance once personnel were suitable trained. A link to the study, which is freely available via the Malaria Journal, is available here: http://www.malariajournal.com/content/6/1/76.