As the primary intervention to prevent malaria transmission, assessing the efficacy and durability of Long Lasting Insecticide treated Nets (LLINs), are key priorities for the vector control community.

Over the years, significant emphasis has been placed on testing the chemical durability of LLINs, but recent publications by the Non-Wovens Innovation and Research Institute (NIRI) and Albert Killian (PMI VectorWorks and Tropical Health) have shone a light on the urgent need to improve physical durability of these tools.

In a comprehensive analysis NIRI has assessed a wide spectrum of damage categories observed in LLINs utilised across Africa and Asia, to determine causal relationships for physical failure. Using this information, NIRI have been able to develop a proposed new suite of testing methodologies to assess an LLIN’s ability to resist damage encountered through everyday use. In a complimentary analysis, Killian et al used a composite resistance to damage (RD) score, proposed by NIRI, to assess its predictive value for the life of LLINs being monitored across Africa, providing an initial proof of principle on the RD metric across four African countries.

As the debate around LLIN durability continues to develop, these additions to the vector control toolbox provide valuable insights to better define physical durability and offer metrics to better define the quality of these key tools. These studies further support our holistic understanding of LLIN durability, and have the potential to inform programmatic decision making, future regulatory frameworks and product development.

To access these timely publications, please click on the associated links below:

The causes of holes and loss of physical integrity in long‐lasting insecticidal nets, Wheldrake et al

https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12936-020-03567-0.pdf

Textile testing to assess the resistance to damage of long-lasting insecticidal nets for malaria control and prevention, Wheldrake et al

https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-020-03571-4

Development of a single resistance to damage metric for mosquito nets related to physical integrity in the field, Wheldrake et al

https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-020-03566-1

Variation of physical durability between LLIN products and net use environments: summary of findings from four African countries, Killian et al

https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-020-03549-2

Correlation of textile ‘resistance to damage’ scores with actual physical survival of long-lasting insecticidal nets in the field, Killian et al

https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-020-03570-5