Wash durability and optimal drying regimen of four brands of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets after repeated washing under tropical conditions

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Atieli Francis K, Munga Stephen O, Ofulla Ayub V, Vulule John M
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2010
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-9-248; https://doaj.org/article/4243c26163604484932305d704b3ee76

Abstract Background The current study was undertaken to determine the optimal wash-drying regimen and the effects of different washing procedures on the efficacy, and durability of four brands of newly introduced long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) under tropical conditions. Methods In the current study, the following four LLINs were tested: Olyset ® , PermaNet ® 2.0, BASF ® and TNT ® . Nets were divided into three sets; one set was washed by hand rubbing and air-dried either hanging or spread on the ground in direct sunlight or hanging or spread on the ground under the shade. A second set was washed using the WHO protocol (machine) and the third set was washed by beating the nets on rocks. The biological activities of the nets were assessed by a three-minute bioassay cone test and the residual insecticide contents were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure. Results Nets that were dried hanging under the shade retained more insecticide, 62.5% and recorded higher mortality compared to nets which were dried lying on the ground in direct sunlight 58.8%, nets dried under the shade spread on the ground 56.3%, and 57.8% for nets dried hanging in direct sunlight. It was also observed that nets washed by the standard WHO protocol, retained more insecticide and were more effective in killing mosquitoes compared to nets washed by local methods of hand rubbing and beating on rocks. There were significant differences between drying regimens (p < 0.0001) and between washing procedures (p < 0.001) respectively. However, the effect of net type was statistically insignificant. The statistical differences on individual nets were also compared, for PermaNet ® and TNT there were no significant differences observed between the four drying regimens ( p = 0.7944 and 0.4703) respectively). For BASF and Olyset, the differences were significant (p < 0.001 and p > 0.0001). Conclusion The results of this study suggest that washing and drying regimen influence the insecticidal ...