Comparison of three larviciding options for malaria vector control

A field study was carried out over 27 weeks in the south Batinah region of Oman to assess the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of different strategies for vector control of malaria. Three larviciding strategies for Anopheles spp. were applied to intervention areas and compared with a control area, with over 2000 breeding sites monitored for 6 months. The normal method of spraying 1 ppm temephos larvicide fortnightly was found to be less efficient and less cost-effective than using 0.5 ppm temephos applied weekly. A third, more environmentally favourable method, to search for vector larvae and treat only those breeding places, was more effective than fortnightly spraying but less effective than the weekly half dose and was the most expensive strategy.