MENTOR’s operational research team recently met with leaders of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Borno State, Nigeria, in preparation for the upcoming study of novel spatial repellent ‘Mesh’.
Joined by officers from the Ministry of Health, the team are engaging closely with community leaders and relevant local authorities at this first stage, to secure permission, provide information about the study, and address concerns.
The trial will test how effective transfluthrin-emanating Mesh is at reducing disease vectors (Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes) in temporary shelters. It will also test how effectively Mesh reduces malaria cases among children aged between 6 to 10 years living in temporary shelters.
The entomological and epidemiological surveillance will run for six months in 24 IDP camps in the city of Maiduguri, including a sample of approximately 2,500 children aged between 6 to 10 years.
The MENTOR study is being conducted in partnership with the University of Maiduguri (Nigeria) and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK).
It follows an earlier trial of Mesh, which is manufactured by SC Johnson, in camps and urban settings in Yemen that began in December 2022. Here, entomological surveillance is testing how effectively this tool repels disease carrying vectors like mosquitoes.
Richard Allan, MENTOR CEO, said: “Researching new tools and treatments is game changing in the successful delivery of disease control programmes that have high rates of efficacy.
“Spatial repellents to stop vector entry into households and other areas offer a promising new technology for the integrated management of vector-borne diseases.
“By conducting our research in vulnerable camp settings, we aim to evaluate the feasibility of Mesh and potentially scale up the use of this new tool to protect the many people at risk from harmful diseases.”
Caption: The MENTOR Team (L to R) Sajjad – Prevention Coordinator; Sara – Programme Manager – operational research; Fatima – Operational Research Officer; Saleh – Senior Prevention and Liaison Officer; Ramona – Operational Research Officer.