Project Title: Impact of 'Star Home' a novel house design on reducing malaria mosquitoes and houseflies in Tanzania: A household randomized controlled study
Project Description: Since 2000 there has been a rapid improvement of housing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), resulting from huge population growth and advancement of the economies of many countries in the region. In SSA most housing improvements are made in urban settings, leaving rural areas dominated with poor communities living in sub-standard housing at higher risks of encountering communicable diseases, such as malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract illness. Thus, there is a need to develop healthier houses... Since 2000 there has been a rapid improvement of housing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), resulting from huge population growth and advancement of the economies of many countries in the region. In SSA most housing improvements are made in urban settings, leaving rural areas dominated with poor communities living in sub-standard housing at higher risks of encountering communicable diseases, such as malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract illness. Thus, there is a need to develop healthier houses to protect children living in poor communities from these communicable diseases. Screening of windows, eave-space, and doors have been shown to reduce malaria transmission, parasitemia, and anemia in children. Houses with constant clean water, proper latrines, improved floor, and sewage systems, have a lower incidence of diarrhoeal diseases than those without. And, well-ventilated houses, with large and numerous windows have reduced risk of respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis. A novel mosquito-screened two-storey house designed to protect people from malaria was piloted in northern Tanzania and shown to reduce the entry of malaria mosquitoes. It was also acceptable to the local community. A new prototype house, a Star-home, has been designed to not only reduce malaria, but also decrease the incidence of diarrhoeal and respiratory infections in young children. A household randomized-controlled trial (RCT) to measure the impact of the Star-home on the incidence of the three groups of diseases is planned for the Mtwara district, in southern Tanzania. Children living in 110 Star-homes and 440 traditional village houses will be followed for three years. We (IHI) will be involved in measuring the impact of the Star-homes on reducing mosquitoes and housefly densities (entomological indices) compared to traditional houses. This will involve both indoor and outdoor sampling of mosquitoes and houseflies as a proxy of malaria and diarrhea illnesses. Mosquito collected will be subjected to the laboratory for sporozoite detection as well as species identification. Specifically, the project will involve the following aspects 1. Compare number of mosquitoes entering light-permeable walled (clear plastic) experimental huts and the opaque-walled huts (opaque plastic). 2. Compare mosquito numbers caught inside the light-permeable walled huts (shade cloth) with narrow eave-gaps against closed eave-gap huts. 3. Compare indoor mosquito and flies densities between Star-homes and traditional houses. 4. Compare the indoor microclimatic conditions (temperature, relative humidity, CO2 and particle pollution) between the Star-homes and traditional houses. Mosquito sampling The study village will be divided into 7-clusters, each cluster consisted with 16-Star-homes together with 64 traditional houses, totalling to 80 houses. Four consecutive nights of mosquito sampling per week will be enough to finish all the 80 houses in the cluster. Twenty CDC-light traps will be used for sampling mosquito indoor per night, 5-traps/village. The CDC light traps will be used to collect mosquitoes indoors in all the 550 houses participating in the study [95]. The trap will be hung 1m from ground at the foot end of the bed occupied by a child’s bed, with other people in the room all sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets. Traps will be operated from 19.00 to 07.00 h, the next morning. We will also sample outdoor host-seeking mosquitoes in two houses, 1-Star-home and 1- traditional house per night by using exposure free miniaturized-Double net (DN-Mini) traps [96]. Mosquitoes collected from these houses will be counted and segregated based on species and sex using identification keys. Houseflies sampling Eighty (80) sticky traps, i.e. from 16-Star-homes together with 64-traditional houses per cluster will be installed at kitchen and left for 4 days. Collection will be done using yellow sticky traps (Agrisense BCS) and left for four days in each house. Five houses will be sampled in the same village each night, one Star-homes together with four traditional houses. Flies will be identified to species, sexed and counted Comparison of indoor microclimatic conditions between the Star-homes and traditional houses Indoor microclimatic conditions such as temperature and relative humidity will be recorded in the 80 entomology study houses per week of sampling i.e. (4 consecutive nights of mosquito and housefly sampling per week per cluster). Here TinyTag data loggers will be positioned at the head end of the bed of the study child, 1 m above the floor. The primary endpoint will be assessed in children <13 years old through a weekly household visits in Mtwara district, Tanzania. Data generated during the main study will demonstrate the effectiveness of improved housing in reducing indoor densities of malaria and diarrhoea vectors thus, malaria and diarrhoea morbidity in children.
Principal Investigator : Fredros Okumu
Department Name :
Time frame: (2020-07-01) - (2025-06-30)
Hanako Foundation (Prime)
Durham University (Normal)
External Collaborating Partners
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