Targeting mosquitoes in their early stages of life has the potential to greatly boost malaria control efforts and prevent thousands of new infections every year.It’s estimated malaria causes 660,000 deaths every year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.Currently, the main malaria preventive measures are long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets and the indoor spraying of homes.But mosquitoes are building up resistance to the chemicals. That’s one reason why researchers reviewed 13 studies of LSM from Eritrea, Kenya, The Gambia, Mali, Tanzania, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Greece.Lucy Tusting -- an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine -- is the lead author of what’s called The Cochrane review.“This research was important because a number of malaria endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere are currently using larval source management.But there’s a real lack of consensus on how effective the method can be and in which settings it’s appropriate.And few studies have so far been conducted to rigorously evaluate the intervention,” she said.
