Examining Mosquito Biting Patterns and the Efficacy of Insecticide-Treated Bed Nets in Preventing Mosquito Bites in Webuye, Kenya.

Abstract

Background: Despite widespread access and use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITN) in Bungoma County in Kenya, there has been little reduction in malaria infection rates. It has been hypothesized that this gap between theoretical and actual ITN efficacy is caused by improper use of ITNs, poor physical condition of ITNs, or insecticide resistance in local mosquitos. This study aims to examine potential factors that affect the efficacy of the ITNs in Western Kenya. Methods: In order to assess the aforementioned aim, a longitudinal observational study was conducted. The study enrolled 9 households and performed weekly data and mosquito collections. Data and sample collection was conducted over an 8-week duration, from June 2016 to July 2016.Results: The study found high ITN usage in the study households (99.3% coverage), a negative association between the number of mosquitoes collected and time, a high proportion of blood fed mosquitoes (0.409), and statistically significant associations with the proportion of blood fed mosquitos and twelve different predictor variables. Conclusion: This study shows that it is feasible to examine factors reducing ITN efficacy in the area and lays down a potential template to be scaled up to examine these factors more specifically.