Innocent Ester, Hassanali Ahmed, Kisinza William Nw, Mutalemwa Prince Pp, Magesa Stephen, Kayombo Edmund
Institute of Traditional Medicine, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P,O, Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2014 Jul 11;10:56. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-10-56.
Plants represent one of the most accessible resources available for mosquito control by communities in Tanzania. However, no documented statistics exist for their contribution in the management of mosquitoes and other insects except through verbal and some publications. This study aimed at assessing communities' knowledge, attitudes and practices of using plants as an alternative method for mosquito control among selected communities in a malaria-prone area in Tanzania.
Questionnaires were administered to 202 respondents from four villages of Bagamoyo District, Pwani Region, in Tanzania followed by participatory rural appraisal with village health workers. Secondary data collection for plants mentioned by the communities was undertaken using different search engines such as googlescholar, PubMED and NAPRALERT.
Results showed about 40.3% of respondents used plants to manage insects, including mosquitoes. A broad profile of plants are used, including "mwarobaini" (Azadirachta indica) (22.5%), "mtopetope" (Annona spp) (20.8%), "mchungwa/mlimau" (Citrus spp) (8.3%), "mvumbashi/uvumbati" (Ocimum spp) (7.4%), "mkorosho" (Anacadium occidentale) (7.1%), "mwembe" (5.4%) (Mangifera indica), "mpera" (4.1%) (Psidium spp) and "maganda ya nazi" (4.1%) (Cocos nucifera). Majority of respondents collected these plants from the wild (54.2%), farms (28.9%) and/or home gardens (6%). The roles played by these plants in fighting mosquitoes is reflected by the majority that deploy them with or without bed-nets (p > 0.55) or insecticidal sprays (p >0.22). Most respondents were aware that mosquitoes transmit malaria (90.6%) while few respondents associated elephantiasis/hydrocele (46.5%) and yellow fever (24.3%) with mosquitoes. Most of the ethnobotanical uses mentioned by the communities were consistent with scientific information gathered from the literature, except for Psidium guajava, which is reported for the first time in insect control.
This survey has indicated some knowledge gap among community members in managing mosquito vectors using plant. The communities need a basic health education and sensitization for effective exploitation of this valuable tool for reducing mosquitoes and associated disease burdens. On the other hand, the government of Tanzania should strengthen advocacy of botanical pesticides development, registration and regulation for public health benefits because they are source of pest control tools people rely on them.
植物是坦桑尼亚社区可用于控制蚊子的最容易获取的资源之一。然而，除了通过口头传播和一些出版物外，关于它们在蚊子及其他昆虫防治中的贡献，尚无记录在案的统计数据。本研究旨在评估坦桑尼亚一个疟疾高发地区选定社区中，社区居民使用植物作为控制蚊子替代方法的知识、态度和做法。
对来自坦桑尼亚滨海省巴加莫约区四个村庄的202名受访者进行问卷调查，随后与乡村卫生工作者进行参与式农村评估。利用谷歌学术、PubMed和天然产物活性成分及毒性数据库等不同搜索引擎，收集社区提到的植物的二手数据。
结果显示，约40.3%的受访者使用植物来防治包括蚊子在内的昆虫。使用的植物种类繁多，包括“mwarobaini”（印楝）（22.5%）、“mtopetope”（番荔枝属）（20.8%）、“mchungwa/mlimau”（柑橘属）（8.3%）、“mvumbashi/uvumbati”（罗勒属）（7.4%）、“mkorosho”（腰果）（7.1%）、“mwembe”（芒果）（5.4%）、“mpera”（番石榴属）（4.1%）和“maganda ya nazi”（椰子）（4.1%）。大多数受访者从野外（54.2%）、农场（28.9%）和/或自家花园（6%）采集这些植物。这些植物在防治蚊子方面所起的作用体现在，大多数受访者无论是否使用蚊帐（p>0.55）或杀虫剂喷雾（p>0.22）都会使用它们。大多数受访者知道蚊子传播疟疾（90.6%），而很少有受访者将象皮肿/鞘膜积液（46.5%）和黄热病（24.3%）与蚊子联系起来。社区提到的大多数民族植物学用途与从文献中收集到的科学信息一致，除了番石榴在昆虫防治中的应用是首次报道。
本次调查表明，社区成员在利用植物控制蚊媒方面存在一些知识差距。社区需要进行基本的健康教育和宣传，以有效利用这一宝贵工具来减少蚊子及相关疾病负担。另一方面，坦桑尼亚政府应加强对植物源农药开发、注册和监管的宣传，以实现公共卫生效益，因为它们是人们依赖的害虫防治工具的来源。
