Skip to main content

Housing and malaria

Guest edited by Dr. Lucy Tusting,  Dr. Jo Lines and Dr. Barbary Willey

Improving housing and the built environment is a promising strategy to supplement long‐lasting insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying for malaria control and elimination. An expanding body of evidence indicates that simple modifications that reduce house entry by malaria vectors, such as closing eaves and screening doors and windows, can help protect residents from malaria. However, numerous questions remain unanswered, from the basic science relating to the optimal design of house improvements through to their translation into operational use. This Malaria Journal thematic series on ‘housing and malaria’ collates articles that contribute to the evidence base on approaches for improving housing to reduce domestic malaria transmission.

  1. Smoke from solid biomass cooking is often stated to reduce household mosquito levels and, therefore, malarial transmission. However, household air pollution (HAP) from solid biomass cooking is estimated to be ...

    Authors: Katherine E. Woolley, Suzanne E. Bartington, Francis D. Pope, Sheila M. Greenfield, Lucy S. Tusting, Malcolm J. Price and G. Neil Thomas
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2022 21:133
  2. The World Health Organization recommends house screening as a tool for malaria control, yet evidence of the long-term durability, functionality and acceptability of this intervention is lacking. In this study,...

    Authors: Fiona C. Shenton, Musa Jawara, Majo Carrasco-Tenezaca, Jakob Knudsen, Umberto D’Alessandro and Steve W. Lindsay
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2022 21:64
  3. In rural sub-Saharan Africa, thatch roofs are being replaced by metal roofs. Metal roofing, however, increases indoor temperatures above human comfort levels, and thus makes it more likely that residents will ...

    Authors: Majo Carrasco-Tenezaca, Ebrima Jatta, Musa Jawara, John Bradley, Margaret Pinder, Umberto D’Alessandro, Jakob Knudsen and Steve W. Lindsay
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2021 20:423
  4. In rural Burkina Faso, the primary malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) primarily feeds indoors at night. Identification of factors which influence mosquito house entry could lead to development of ...

    Authors: Jean Baptiste Yaro, Alfred B. Tiono, Antoine Sanou, Hyacinthe K. Toe, John Bradley, Alphonse Ouedraogo, Z. Amidou Ouedraogo, Moussa W. Guelbeogo, Efundem Agboraw, Eve Worrall, N.’Fale Sagnon, Steven W. Lindsay and Anne L. Wilson
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2021 20:397
  5. Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and house modifications are proven vector control tools, yet in most regions, full coverage has not been achieved. This study investigates household factors associated with acce...

    Authors: Olukayode G. Odufuwa, Amanda Ross, Yeromin P. Mlacha, Omary Juma, Selemani Mmbaga, Daniel Msellemu and Sarah Moore
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2020 19:220
  6. This study evaluated the effectiveness of improved housing on indoor residual mosquito density and exposure to infected Anophelines in Minkoameyos, a rural community in southern forested Cameroon.

    Authors: Rachel L. Nguela, Jude D. Bigoga, Tedjou N. Armel, Tallah Esther, Dongmo Line, Njeambosay A. Boris, Tchouine Frederic, Riksum Kazi, Peter Williams, Wilfred F. Mbacham and Rose G. F. Leke
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2020 19:172
  7. Malaria control in Africa relies extensively on indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). IRS typically targets mosquitoes resting on walls, and in few cases, roofs and ceilings, usin...

    Authors: Betwel J. Msugupakulya, Emmanuel W. Kaindoa, Halfan S. Ngowo, Japhet M. Kihonda, Najat F. Kahamba, Dickson S. Msaky, Damaris Matoke-Muhia, Patrick K. Tungu and Fredros O. Okumu
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2020 19:22
  8. Malaria is a public health problem in the Brazilian Amazon region. In integrated vector management for malaria (anopheline) control, indoor residual spraying (IRS) represents one of the main tools in the basic...

    Authors: Ana Paula S. A. Corrêa, Allan K. R. Galardo, Luana A. Lima, Daniel C. P. Câmara, Josiane N. Müller, Jéssica Fernanda S. Barroso, Oscar M. M. Lapouble, Cynara M. Rodovalho, Kaio Augusto N. Ribeiro and José Bento P. Lima
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2019 18:345
  9. Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum parasite is still known to be one of the most significant public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. Genetic diversity of the Sudanese P. falciparum based on the diversi...

    Authors: Nouh S. Mohamed, Musab M. Ali Albsheer, Hanadi Abdelbagi, Emanuel E. Siddig, Mona A. Mohamed, Abdallah E. Ahmed, Rihab Ali Omer, Mohamed S. Muneer, Ayman Ahmed, Hussam A. Osman, Mohamed S. Ali, Ibrahim M. Eisa and Mohamed M. Elbasheir
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2019 18:333
  10. There is growing interest in the potential to modify houses to target mosquitoes with insecticides or repellents as they search for human hosts. One version of this ‘Lethal House Lure’ approach is the In2Care® Ea...

    Authors: Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Welbeck A. Oumbouke, Innocent Zran Tia, N’guessan Brou, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Raphaël N’guessan and Matthew B. Thomas
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2019 18:298
  11. The emergence of mosquitoes that can avoid indoor-deployed interventions, such as treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying, threatens the mainstay of malaria control in Zambia. Furthermore, the requiremen...

    Authors: Jennifer C. Stevenson, Limonty Simubali, Twig Mudenda, Esther Cardol, Ulrich R. Bernier, Agustin Abad Vazquez, Philip E. Thuma, Douglas E. Norris, Melynda Perry, Daniel L. Kline, Lee W. Cohnstaedt, Pablo Gurman, Sebastian D’hers and Noel M. Elman
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2018 17:437
  12. The widespread emergence of insecticide resistance in African malaria vectors remains one of the main challenges facing control programmes. Electrostatic coating that uses polarity to bind insecticide particle...

    Authors: Welbeck A. Oumbouke, Innocent Z. Tia, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Matthew B. Thomas and Raphael N’Guessan
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2018 17:374
  13. Eave tubes are a type of housing modification that provide a novel way of delivering insecticides to mosquitoes as they attempt to enter the house. The current study reports on a series of semi-field studies a...

    Authors: Antoine M. G. Barreaux, N’Guessan Brou, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Raphaël N’Guessan, Welbeck A. Oumbouke, Innocent Z. Tia and Matthew B. Thomas
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2018 17:306
  14. Whilst significant progress has been made in the fight against malaria, vector control continues to rely on just two insecticidal methods, i.e., indoor residual spraying and insecticidal bed nets. House improv...

    Authors: Janneke Snetselaar, Basilio N. Njiru, Beatrice Gachie, Phillip Owigo, Rob Andriessen, Katey Glunt, Anne J. Osinga, James Mutunga, Marit Farenhorst and Bart G. J. Knols
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2017 16:276
  15. Presented here are a series of preliminary experiments evaluating “eave tubes”—a technology that combines house screening with a novel method of delivering insecticides for control of malaria mosquitoes.

    Authors: Eleanore D. Sternberg, Kija R. Ng’habi, Issa N. Lyimo, Stella T. Kessy, Marit Farenhorst, Matthew B. Thomas, Bart G. J. Knols and Ladslaus L. Mnyone
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2016 15:447
  16. In spite of massive progress in the control of African malaria since the turn of the century, there is a clear and recognized need for additional tools beyond long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) ...

    Authors: Bart G. J. Knols, Marit Farenhorst, Rob Andriessen, Janneke Snetselaar, Remco A. Suer, Anne J. Osinga, Johan M. H. Knols, Johan Deschietere, Kija R. Ng’habi, Issa N. Lyimo, Stella T. Kessy, Valeriana S. Mayagaya, Sergej Sperling, Michael Cordel, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Patrick Hartmann…
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2016 15:404
  17. Malaria prevalence has halved in endemic Africa since 2000, largely driven by the concerted international control effort. To achieve the new global targets for malaria control and elimination by 2030, and to s...

    Authors: Lucy S. Tusting, Barbara Willey and Jo Lines
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2016 15:320