Vector Control Advisory Group
Independent evaluation of the public health value of innovative new tools, technologies and approaches for vector control is needed to enable WHO to provide evidence-based advice to Member States on whether their deployment is justified. This is essential to ensure that scarce resources available for disease control are used to maximum impact. In order to assist WHO in developing public health policy on new tools, the Vector Control Advisory Group (VCAG) assesses the public health value of new interventions and provides guidance on developing the evidence base required to inform such assessments.
Learn more

Chemosensory interference: bait station

How the intervention works: An example of a product being evaluated under this intervention class is currently simply referred to as Attractive Targeted Sugar Bait (ATSB). It is designed to attract and kill sugar-seeking Anopheles mosquitoes.1 The bait station is placed on the outdoor walls of houses. It has 3 components: an attractant, sugar and an active ingredient that kills mosquitoes. A protective membrane covers and protects the bait from rain, dust and serves as a barrier to pollinators but allows mosquitoes to feed through it.

Disease(s) that may be reduced in prevalence or prevented: Malaria

Population(s) intended to be protected: Populations living in in enclosed and/or semi-enclosed structures in areas endemic for daytime, early-evening or late-night biting by malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Status of review: A 2-year proof-of-concept study was initiated in Mali in 2015.2 In May 2019, VCAG reviewed draft protocols for 3 epidemiological trials planned in Africa.

 

Notes:

1. All mosquitos feed on sugar (e.g. nectar or honey dew of plants), while only female mosquitos feed on the blood of humans and animals when they require it to produce eggs.

2. Qualls WA, Müller GC, Traore SF, Traore MM, Arheart KL, Doumbia S, et al. Indoor use of attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB) to effectively control malaria vectors in Mali, West Africa. Malar J. 2015;14(301). doi:10.1186/s12936-015-0819-8.

Last update: 18 June 2020