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Effect of individual and community-level bed net usage on malaria prevalence among under-fives in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Levitz, L; Janko, M; Mwandagalirwa, K; Thwai, KL; Likwela, JL; Tshefu, AK; Emch, M; Meshnick, SR
Published in: Malaria journal
January 2018

Understanding the contribution of community-level long-lasting, insecticidal net (LLIN) coverage to malaria control is critical to planning and assessing intervention campaigns. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has one of the highest burdens of malaria cases and deaths and has dramatically scaled up LLIN ownership in recent years thus it is an ideal setting to evaluate the effect of individual versus community-level use to prevent malaria among children under the age of 5.Data were derived from the 2013-2014 DRC Demographic and Health Survey. Community-level LLIN usage was significantly associated with protection against malaria, even when individual-level LLIN usage was included in the model. In stratified analysis, higher levels of community LLIN coverage enhanced the protective effect of individual LLIN usage, resulting in lower malaria prevalence among individuals who used a LLIN. A sub-analysis of individual LLIN usage by insecticide type revealed deltamethrin-treated nets were more protective than permethrin-treated nets, suggesting that mosquitoes in the DRC are more susceptible to deltamethrin.This study examines the effects of individual and community-level LLIN usage in young children in an area of high ITN usage. Individual and community LLIN usage were significantly associated with protection against malaria in children under 5 in the DRC. Importantly, the protective effect of individual LLIN usage against malaria is enhanced when community LLIN coverage is higher, demonstrating the importance of increasing community-level LLIN usage. LLINs treated with deltamethrin were shown to be more protective against malaria than LLINs treated with permethrin. Demographic and Health Surveys are thus a novel and important means of surveillance for insecticide resistance.

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Published In

Malaria journal

DOI

EISSN

1475-2875

ISSN

1475-2875

Publication Date

January 2018

Volume

17

Issue

1

Start / End Page

39

Related Subject Headings

  • Tropical Medicine
  • Pyrethrins
  • Prevalence
  • Permethrin
  • Ownership
  • Nitriles
  • Mosquito Vectors
  • Mosquito Control
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Male
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Levitz, L., Janko, M., Mwandagalirwa, K., Thwai, K. L., Likwela, J. L., Tshefu, A. K., … Meshnick, S. R. (2018). Effect of individual and community-level bed net usage on malaria prevalence among under-fives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Malaria Journal, 17(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2183-y
Levitz, Lauren, Mark Janko, Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa, Kyaw L. Thwai, Joris L. Likwela, Antoinette K. Tshefu, Michael Emch, and Steven R. Meshnick. “Effect of individual and community-level bed net usage on malaria prevalence among under-fives in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Malaria Journal 17, no. 1 (January 2018): 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2183-y.
Levitz L, Janko M, Mwandagalirwa K, Thwai KL, Likwela JL, Tshefu AK, et al. Effect of individual and community-level bed net usage on malaria prevalence among under-fives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Malaria journal. 2018 Jan;17(1):39.
Levitz, Lauren, et al. “Effect of individual and community-level bed net usage on malaria prevalence among under-fives in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Malaria Journal, vol. 17, no. 1, Jan. 2018, p. 39. Epmc, doi:10.1186/s12936-018-2183-y.
Levitz L, Janko M, Mwandagalirwa K, Thwai KL, Likwela JL, Tshefu AK, Emch M, Meshnick SR. Effect of individual and community-level bed net usage on malaria prevalence among under-fives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Malaria journal. 2018 Jan;17(1):39.
Journal cover image

Published In

Malaria journal

DOI

EISSN

1475-2875

ISSN

1475-2875

Publication Date

January 2018

Volume

17

Issue

1

Start / End Page

39

Related Subject Headings

  • Tropical Medicine
  • Pyrethrins
  • Prevalence
  • Permethrin
  • Ownership
  • Nitriles
  • Mosquito Vectors
  • Mosquito Control
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Male