Insecticide treated bednets are highly effective at reducing malaria transmission, despite the rise in insecticide resistance, according to a study carried out by the WHO. But this is not grounds for complacency, according to the President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Dr Stephen Higgs. ‘This study provides encouraging news that we have not yet run out of time in battling insecticide resistance’, he said. ‘However, we must take advantage of the time we now have to invest in research, and generate new tools that will allow us to finally defeat this complex and challenging disease.’

The WHO research across five countries showed that people who slept under a long-lasting insecticide treated net (LLIN) had significantly lower rates of malaria infection than those who did not use a net. This was consistent with recent research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which showed that insecticide treated bednets provided significant protection to children in an area of Malawi with considerable malaria transmission and low levels of insecticide resistance. The research found that the insecticide treated bednets still kill mosquitos even in areas where there is known resistance.

Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme said that the key finding of the study is that treated nets continue to be a highly effective tool in the malaria fight. ’The study supports WHO’s call for achieving universal coverage of long-lasting insecticide treated bednets for all populations at risk of malaria,’ he said.

According to the WHO World Malaria Report 2015, mosquito nets have been the most important malaria control tool in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for an estimated 69% of cases prevented through interventions since 2001. Since 2000, malaria case incidence has declined by 37% globally and malaria death rates have fallen by 60%.  In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most heavily affected by malaria, cases and deaths have fallen by 42% and 66%, respectively.

Following the study Dr Alonso has called for a global strategy for comprehensive control of disease carrying insects to be high on the agenda for the 2017 World Health Assembly. He said there is a growing need for sustainable approaches supported by enhanced expertise to aid the fight against malaria and other insect-borne diseases.  WHO continues to highlight the urgent need for new and improved malaria-fighting tools to accelerate progress towards global elimination goals and is calling for greater investments in vector control interventions, improved diagnostics and more effective medicines.

IVCC is at the forefront of the fight against disease carrying insects. Intensive research since 2005, with global leaders in insecticide development, has produced a promising pipeline of new anti-mosquito tools currently under development. WHO is revising its process for reviewing and recommending new malaria vector interventions in order to fast track their route to the field.

Mosquito resistance to insecticides remains a growing concern, according to WHO estimates revealed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in Atlanta recently.

WHO reports 60 countries have recorded mosquito resistance to at least one of the four insecticides used in long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINS) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) since 2010. Of these, 49 countries have reported resistance to two or more insecticide classes. WHO says that if resistance continues to intensify, the mosquito-killing capacity of LLINs and indoor residual spraying may steadily weaken.

This would be a tragedy for sub-Saharan Africa where acclaimed research last year demonstrated that LLINs accounted for about 78% of the substantial malaria gains over the past 15 years or so. (Read more about this here.)

If the battle against malaria is to continue to drive back this scourge from sub-Saharan Africa, the need to continue to develop new public health insecticides is paramount. Fortunately, due to the foresight of leading vector science academics who saw the potential threat over 15 years ago, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other forward thinking funders have invested appropriately in the search for new public health insecticides. IVCC was established in 2005 as the only vector control focused Product Development Partnership (PDP) and has worked closely with world-leading vector scientists and agro-chemical companies to design and develop novel public health insecticides targetted precisely at killing the mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

Professor Hilary Ranson, one of the world’s leading authorities on insecticide resistance, warned earlier this year that pyrethroid resistance is the biggest biological threat to malaria control in Africa. (Read about this here.) Together with other leading specialists in this area she says that the urgent need for new vector control products is apparent,  and the new vector control products that are in the pipeline must be rationally deployed in order to slow down future resistance developing.

IVCC has a healthy pipeline of novel vector control tools, itself a product of consistent commitment by public health funders and industrial partners to finding a solution to the global threat of insect-transmitted diseases.

*The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015. S Bhatt, et al.

Despite growing mosquito resistance to insecticides, vector control remains the main way of preventing and reducing malaria transmission, says the WHO in its recently released World Malaria Report 2016.

‘Long-lasting insecticidal nets are the mainstay of malaria prevention’, said Secretary General, Margaret Chan, adding that the WHO recommends their use for all people at risk of malaria. ‘Across sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of people sleeping under treated nets has nearly doubled over the last 5 years’, she said.

The report spotlights a number of positive trends, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the region that carries the heaviest malaria burden. It shows that, in many  countries, access to disease-cutting tools is expanding at a rapid rate for those most in need.

Although excellent progress has been made, in 2015 there was still a global tally of 212 million cases of malaria and 429 000 deaths. Gaps in coverage are reported for key interventions such as bed nets and in-door residual spraying, with around 43% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa still unprotected.

The progress of the past 15 years is threatened by the rapid development and spread of mosquito resistance to insecticides. Antimalarial drug resistance could also jeopardize recent gains.

Welcoming the Report, IVCC CEO, Dr Nick Hamon said, ‘The significant gains in the battle against malaria are to be applauded, but the battle is far from over. Vector control is now widely recognised as a key player in the battle and IVCC is deeply committed to ensuring it delivers the new vector control tools needed to ultimately defeat this insidious disease.’

Find out more about the World Malaria Report 2016 here.

IVCC is to receive new funding of £25million from UKAID for its work developing new anti-malarial insecticides. The announcement was made by the Secretary of State for International Development, The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, at the launch of the WHO World Malaria Report 2016 in London.

‘We are here to celebrate the continuing progress in the battle against malaria, and the leadership role the UK is playing as part of the global effort,’ she said. ‘But progress is now overshadowed by the big issue of drug resistance and insecticide resistance. So it is imperative that the world continues to affirm its commitment to tackling malaria today, and to meeting that critical target agreed last year, of reducing the malaria burden by a further 90% by 2030.’

‘The UK has been at the forefront of the fight against malaria for many years, but we must keep up the momentum. Long lasting insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying of homes have had a major impact in the fight against malaria. With our support, IVCC are on track to deliver three new active ingredients to the market by 2022.’

Thanking UKAID, IVCC CEO, Dr Nick Hamon said, ‘This is absolutely wonderful news. This grant will result in significant impact through the creation of a toolbox of novel vector solutions. We thank the staff at UKAID for their outstanding support over the past three years and look forward to working with them over the next four years and beyond. IVCC has a very strong pipeline of potential products, with one new product in particular (Actellic CS), co-developed with Syngenta, saving lives and having a significant impact in Africa’.

Read the full speech of the Secretary of State here

IVCC would be nothing without our industrial partners.

We have a great mission— to save lives by preventing malaria with repurposed or new classes of insecticides that kill the mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

Since 2005 we’ve worked with a great cloud of scientists, researching millions of chemical compounds to find the best ones to stop malaria. We’ve helped apply the best minds in chemistry, reformulations, and all kinds of other scientific magic that I know little about.

Except that it works, and it is working, and we’re nearly there with the new active ingredients that will transform malaria vector control. Yes, and save lives. Millions of lives. Young children and pregnant women will no longer die from this preventable disease.

So, it’s very appropriate on World Malaria Day, to say thank you to all IVCC’s industrial partners. That includes scientists at BASF, Bayer, Sumitomo, Syngenta and Mitsui. We couldn’t do it without your quiet, selfless dedication to solve a critical and global public health crisis. In the battle against malaria I think you are truly heroes.

Thank you for everything you do. You are truly making the world a better place.

Watch the film Heroic Chemistry