Catholic Relief Services, Kampala, Uganda.
Catholic Relief Services, HQ, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Trials. 2024 Aug 22;25(1):555. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08378-1.
Spatial repellents (SRs) have been widely used for the prevention of mosquito bites, and preliminary findings suggest efficacy against both malaria (1) and Aedes-borne viruses (2) but their effectiveness in reducing mosquito-borne diseases under operational use has never been evaluated. SRs have the potential of being critical tools in the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases in contexts where typical vector control strategies, such as insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying, are inaccessible or underutilized such as among displaced persons or in emergency relief settings.
Children will be enrolled in 3 separate cohorts to establish the effectiveness of SRs in reducing malaria infection in different distribution channels. One cohort will estimate the direct effect of the SR distributed through a reference channel (study personnel distribution). The two remaining cohorts will estimate the protection of the SR distributed through a voucher channel and the Village Health Team channel. Cohorts will be followed twice a month (approximately every 15 days): during the first scheduled household visit in the month, a blood sample will be taken for malaria rapid diagnostic test (Monthly Visit #1); and, during the second scheduled household visit, a blood sample will only be taken if the participant has a recent history of fever (Monthly Visit #2). The incidence of malaria in each cohort will be estimated and compared to the reference cohort to determine the benefit of using a SR in an area with high, year-round transmission of malaria.
This study will address the knowledge gap of whether or not SRs are effective in reducing human malaria disease in humanitarian assistance and emergency response settings in sub-Saharan Africa where underlying transmission rates are historically high and ITNs may or may not be widely deployed. This research will inform policy makers on whether to recommend SRs as a means to further reduce malaria transmission for such operational programs.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06122142. Registered on November 8, 2023.
空间驱避剂（SRs）已被广泛用于预防蚊虫叮咬，初步研究结果表明其对疟疾（1）和蚊媒病毒（2）均有疗效，但它们在实际应用中降低蚊媒疾病的效果从未得到过评估。在典型的病媒控制策略（如经杀虫剂处理的蚊帐（ITNs）和室内滞留喷洒）不可及或利用不足的情况下，例如在流离失所者或紧急救援环境中，SR 有可能成为预防蚊媒疾病的关键工具。
将招募三组儿童，以确定 SR 在不同传播渠道下减少疟疾感染的效果。一组将估计通过参考渠道（研究人员分配）分发的 SR 的直接效果。其余两组将估计通过代金券渠道和村卫生团队渠道分发的 SR 的保护作用。将每两个月（大约每 15 天）随访一次：在当月的第一次预约家访期间，将采集血样进行疟疾快速诊断测试（每月访问 #1）；并且，如果参与者有近期发热史，则仅在第二次预约家访期间采集血样（每月访问 #2）。将估计每个队列的疟疾发病率，并与参考队列进行比较，以确定在疟疾全年高传播率的地区使用 SR 的益处。
这项研究将解决一个知识空白，即 SR 是否能有效减少撒哈拉以南非洲人道主义援助和应急响应环境中人类疟疾疾病，在这些地区，潜在的传播率历来很高，而且 ITNs 可能广泛部署，也可能没有广泛部署。这项研究将为决策者提供信息，以确定是否建议将 SR 作为进一步降低此类运营计划中疟疾传播的手段。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06122142. 注册于 2023 年 11 月 8 日。
