The research, printed in The Lancet Infectious Ailments on August 19, discovered that dengue instances fell 45% extra in areas the place water tanks acquired the coating than in comparable management areas.
The therapy price round $2 per tank per 12 months and was designed to focus on water containers the place Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that spreads dengue, generally breeds.
The coating remained efficient for greater than 12 months. The findings may be related to Germany, the place the intently associated Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has turn out to be established in lots of areas.
A $2 therapy targets mosquito breeding websites
Researchers carried out the research in Cúcuta, Colombia, evaluating 20 city areas with round 1,600 to 2,000 households every.
One 12 months after therapy, the areas with coated tanks recorded 337 dengue instances per 100,000 inhabitants, in contrast with 529 within the management areas.
The researchers additionally discovered a major discount within the proportion of properties containing mosquito larvae or pupae.Earlier security research confirmed that water from handled containers posed no well being danger to people.
How the coating works
The therapy is designed for water containers in and round properties. In Colombia, giant washing tanks are among the many most essential breeding websites for Aedes aegypti.
It comprises two energetic substances. One kills grownup mosquitoes and inhibits egg-laying, whereas the opposite prevents larvae and pupae from growing.
Microcapsules slowly launch the substances, permitting the coating to stay efficient for greater than 12 months.
Why focusing on breeding websites issues
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral an infection that’s rising worldwide, with an estimated 100 million to 400 million individuals affected annually.
Most infections are gentle, however extreme instances might be deadly. The researchers say local weather change, urbanisation and the unfold of the tiger mosquito are additionally rising the chance of native outbreaks in Europe.
By focusing on locations the place mosquitoes breed, the coating affords one other method to scale back the burden of dengue.
Might the strategy be helpful in Germany
The findings are additionally of curiosity to Germany as a result of Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, makes use of water containers as breeding websites, together with rain barrels in gardens and allotments.
Germany makes use of the organic agent Bti to regulate mosquito larvae in some water containers, however it have to be reapplied each two weeks.
The researchers say a coating that continues to be efficient for a lot of months may scale back the burden on households and native authorities.
Nonetheless, the Colombian outcomes can’t be straight utilized to Germany. The mosquito species, local weather, container varieties and management programmes are completely different.
A do-it-yourself resolution for Europe may very well be conceivable as soon as the coating is authorised.
