MOSQUITOES – IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT MALARIA

Malaria, an infectious disease spread by mosquitoes, yearly kills nearly 4,00,000 people in Africa. The use of insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual sprays are the most traditional and effective ways of reducing mosquito groups in Africa. 

However mosquitoes are growing more repellent to the commonly used insecticides such as pyrethroids, therefore the demand for alternative protected chemistry to practice in controlling mosquitoes is important.

Looking for a more eco-friendly alternative method, an indoor residual spray which is prepared by mixing a variety of volcanic glass with water proved effective to control mosquitoes that carry malaria, according to a new study. 

The findings could help reduce disease-carrying mosquito populations and the risk of malaria in Africa.

An innovative method of killing deadly mosquitoes:

Pearl Rock is volcanically acidic lava that is sharply cooled and is frequently used as building insulation or potting soil additive. 

Today, people live in malaria-prone areas usually spray insecticides on surfaces such as mosquito nets around beds. While doing so does kill many of the mosquitoes that fall on these surfaces, pesticides are toxic to people themselves and the environment.

North Carolina State University researchers worked with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) based at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine recently trialled with a product called Imergard moisture powder to test Imergard WP. 

Manufactured by California-based Imerys Alone Minerals, the product is a spray consisting essentially of water and powder pearl rock. 

Test for examining the mosquito spray:

Entomologists used the spray in experimental huts in the Republic of Benin (West Africa) to test the consequences of the spray on both wild and more responsive strains of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the basic malaria vector in sub-Saharan Africa.

The tests were carried out in four groups of huts in the West African Republic of Benin. Control study huts had no mosquito-prevention spray. In the second group, hut walls were sprayed with a common pyrethroid. 

Hut walls were coated with Imergard WP in the third group, while in the fourth group hut walls were coated with a mixture of Imergard WP and the common pyrethroid.

Results observed from the study for malaria:

As a result, the researchers found that the walls treated with Imegard both on its own and when combined with pyrethroid initially killed the largest amount of malaria-carrying Anopheles gambiae mosquitos. 

Six months after application, though, the mortality rate of mosquitos landing on the Imegard-only walls was still up at 78 per cent. By contrast, over the same time, the mortality rate for the pyrethroid-only walls dropped to 25 per cent.

The scientist believes that the statically transferred perlite particles essentially dehydrate the mosquito. pearl rock particles act as a force attached to insects, destroying the protective lipid layer on its outer cortex. This can lead to the eventual dehydration of mosquitoes and death. 

Also, the spray is non-toxic to mammals and is relatively inexpensive, and mosquitoes do not become resistant to it. Many die within a few hours of contact with the treated Imegard surface. 

What happened to the mosquitoes after the test?

Mosquitoes are not resisted from a treated surface because there is no olfactory mechanism to smell rock. 

Huts coated with only the common pesticide had mosquito death rates of around 40 to 45% on five months, with those rates falling to 25% in month six of the study.

It is novel to treat pearl rock into pesticides. Imergard WP’s benefit is that it provides a physical mode of action and is a sturdy tool in resistance management. 

It is not a silver bullet, but it will prevent cross-chemical resistance development and balance existing IRS chemistries that are neurotoxins, which act on muscles and nerve targets.

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