Fredros Okumu's blog

Many low and middle-income communities still lack affordable and scalable solutions for their priority health needs. We are aiming to improve generation of new ideas and technological innovation by early-career researchers in Africa, specifically in the health sector. As a step in the process, we wish to conduct an analysis of expert opinion on best strategies for encouraging these early-career scientists so that they can better identify priority health problems in their communities, and generate new ideas to address these problems.

Current malaria control operations rely heavily on insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS), both of which are insecticide-based and target only mosquitoes that feed or rest inside houses. Although these methods are extremely powerful and have saved many lives, the protection that they confer is insufficient to eliminate malaria in the most endemic regions of Africa.

It has long been postulated that complementary methods to build upon these gains could include, among other options, novel technologies derived from synthetic human odors.

Though mosquito repellents are among the best known personal protection measures, their use outside the deployed-warfighter-communities is limited. The need for active user participation, discipline, consistent applications and their high costs make civilian applications of mosquito repellents a less appreciated option for use against malaria or other mosquito borne infections. there has also been the argument that repelling mosquitoes without killing them might divert the host seeking mosquitoes to bite persons within the household/environment who do not apply the repellents.