Experimental hut evaluation of Fendona 6SC -treated bednets and Interceptor long-lasting nets against Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Burkina Faso

Background & objectives: Malaria prevention relies heavily on insecticide-treated bednets. Even though the benefitsof bednets have been proven that in most of the studies carried out in Africa, their efficacy remains dependent onlocal conditions. In this study, under field conditions, we evaluated the efficacy of two LLINs (PermaNet vsInterceptor ) and two bednet treatment kits (K-O TAB vs Fendona 6SC ) against Anopheles gambiae s.l.Methods: Bednets were evaluated using experimental huts in the village of Pissy located in the Saponé healthdistrict of Burkina Faso. Treatments and sleepers were randomly rotated between huts. Results are expressed interms of induced exophily, mortality after 24 h and blood-feeding inhibition.Results: A total of 1392 An. gambiae s.l. mosquitoes were collected during 120 nights in the experimental huts.The overall mortality rates were 85.4% (CL: 79.7–91.4) and 77.5% (CL: 56.9–97.3) for PermaNet and Interceptor ,respectively. For the conventionally treated bednets, the mortality was 78.2% (CL: 63.13–96.7) with the Fendona6SC -treated nets and 75.5% (CL: 61.2–93) with the K-O TAB -treated nets. The proportion of blood-fedmosquitoes was significantly higher in the untreated bednet arm than in the treated one, as well as for long-lastingnets than for conventionally treated nets. The entry rate did not vary significantly according to the bednet type,but the treated bednets increased the level of exophily by at least 43%.Conclusion: In the field, the Fendona 6SC kit and the Interceptor bednets showed comparable efficacy to thealready used K-O TAB kit and PermaNet bednets. These results could help National Malaria Program managersto formulate appropriate policy for effective vector control.