Determination of fabric strength of long-lasting insecticidal nets. Report of a WHO consultation, Geneva, 20−22 August 2014

Overview

A WHO consultation on assessment of the strength and durability of fabric for long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) was convened at WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, on 20–22 August 2014. The meeting was convened in open and closed plenary sessions. The open meeting was attended by representatives of industry, institutional observers, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Research for Development (R4D), in addition to members of the expert advisory group and the WHO secretariat. Annex 1 contains the agenda and Annex 2 the list of participants. The closed meeting was restricted to WHO experts and secretariat.

The consultation was opened by Dr John Reeder, Acting Director, Global Malaria Programme, who welcomed participants and noted that the WHO study on determining the fabric strength of LLINs was another successful collaboration between the WHO Global Malaria Programme and the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Dr Reeder thanked individual participants, countries, programmes and institutions for their contributions, noting that LLIN manufacturers had provided net samples and agreed to share the results of the study. He also thanked the Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias Têxtil e do Vestuário (Portugal) for conducting textile tests on LLINs and Dr Stephen Smith (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA) for writing the study report. The Global Fund deserved special recognition for providing the resources to support this critical study on laboratory assessment of LLIN fabrics. WHO has recognized for some time that additional parameters of fabric strength should be included in WHO specifications of LLINs for quality control. A WHO position statement in 2011 noted that the cost per year of effective protection rather than the cost per LLIN should be considered. The present consultation would review the data from the two phases of the LLIN study: an initial data generation phase and a second phase on “wounded bursting strength” of LLINs, as requested by the expert group at the previous consultation in August 2013. The data will be used to improve the minimum specifications of LLINs and stimulate improvements in their quality and innovation. Dr Reeder highlighted the question to be addressed by the group: Are these data a sufficient basis for guidance on procurement? He asked the expert panel to recommend to WHO the way forward in obtaining data on the durability of LLINs under operational conditions and using the data to make recommendations, as had been done for rapid diagnostic tests for malaria. He looked forward to the conclusions and recommendations of this important consultation.