Protozoal diseases Visceral Leishmaniasis Kala azar Leishmania donovani Vectors Sandflies Phlebotomus argentipes Vector control Bednets Personal protection Evaluation Bloodmeal Effectiveness Nepal India Asia, South
Abstract:
Observational studies in the Indian subcontinent have shown that untreated nets may be protective against visceral
leishmaniasis (VL). In this study, we evaluated the effect of untreated nets on the blood feeding rates of Phlebotomus
argentipes as well as the human blood index (HBI) in VL endemic villages in India and Nepal. The study
had a “before and after intervention” design in 58 households in six clusters. The use of untreated nets reduced the
blood feeding rate by 85% (95% CI 76.5-91.1%) and the HBI by 42.2% (95% CI 11.1-62.5%). These results provide
circumstantial evidence that untreated nets may provide some degree of personal protection against sand fly bites.