The paper titled “Malaria morbidity and pyrethroid resistance after the introduction of insecticide-treated bednets and artemisinin-based combination therapies: a longitudinal study” looks at how malaria morbidity, mosquito populations and asymptomatic infections in a west African rural population were affected by the distribution of insecticide-treated bednets and the use of artemisinin-based treatment of malaria. The researchers found that during the two years after distribution of the longlasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs), a reduction in the number of malaria cases was observed and P.falciparum malaria morbidity was 13 times lower than observed during the control period. However, 27-30 months after LLIN distribution, the number of malaria attacks had increased to the high levels observed before the introduction of LLINs, and even higher levels in adults and older children than previously observed.

The paper closes with the statement “Strategies to address the problem of insecticide resistance and to mitigate its effects must be urgently defined and implemented.”

Publications

Trape et al. Malaria morbidity and pyrethroid resistance after the introduction of insecticide-treated bednets and artemisinin-based combination therapies: a longitudinal study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2011 Dec;11(12):925-32. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(11)70194-3. Epub 2011 Aug 17.

Keating, Eisele. Epidemiology of malaria morbidity after control scale-up. Lancet Infect Dis. 2011 Dec;11(12):891-2. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(11)70212-2. Epub 2011 Aug 17.