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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

CP3.2: Tropical Health 5 min talks sponsored by QIMR Berghofer, Centre for Tropical Health & Emerging Diseases
Location: Lecture Theatre 3
Session Chair: Darren Gray, QIMR Berghofer
Session Chair: Chika Zumuk, Queensland Institute of Medical Research

Presentation 3

Within-batch Inconsistencies and Elevated Temperature Decreases the Insecticidal Efficacy of Yahe LN Insecticide Treated Nets Delivered to Papua New Guinea: Implications for Quality Control, Transport and Storage

Holly Reichel¹, Melanie Koinari¹, Norelle Daly¹, Stephan Karl^1,2

1: Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Australia; 2: Vector-Borne Diseases Unit, PNG Institute of Medical Research, Papua New Guinea

Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) are the most widely used mosquito control tool. To ensure efficacy and quality, ITN products undergo a prequalification process, with any changes to prequalified products to be reported to the World Health Organization. As a result, recipients can expect to receive products exhibiting consistent physical and insecticidal properties. A durability study showed that Yahe ITNs distributed in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2021 did not retain insecticidal efficacy for longer than several months. ITNs are frequently exposed to elevated temperatures during transport and storage and throughout their lifespan in the tropics. To better understand the potential impact of elevated temperature on insecticidal efficacy of Yahe, and to investigate why ITNs failed insecticidal efficacy tests after 6 months in PNG, Yahe ITNs were stored at elevated temperatures and evaluated using cone bioassays. Results revealed diverging physical and insecticidal properties of ITNs sampled from a single batch with ITNs exhibiting differences in colour, mesh size, weave, and insecticidal efficacy. Furthermore, ITNs exposed to 35- 50°C exhibited significantly decreased insecticidal efficacy. This study highlights inconsistencies in basic product properties of Yahe LN ITNs that are apparently not controlled or reported, and the importance of assessing current products for temperature-stability.