Which intervention is better for malaria vector control: insecticide mixture long-lasting insecticidal nets or standard pyrethroid nets combined with indoor residual spraying?

BACKGROUND: Malaria control today is threatened by widespread insecticide resistance in vector populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of a mixture of unrelated insecticides for indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LNs) or as a combination of interventions for improved vector control and insecticide resistance management. Studies investigating the efficacy of these different strategies are necessary. METHODS: The efficacy of Interceptor(®) G2 LN, a newly developed LN treated with a mixture of chlorfenapyr (a pyrrole) and alpha-cypermethrin (a pyrethroid), was compared to a combined chlorfenapyr IRS and Interceptor(®) LN (a standard alpha-cypermethrin LN) intervention in experimental huts in Cove Southern Benin, against wild, free-flying, pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles gambiae s.l. A direct comparison was also made with a pyrethroid-only net (Interceptor(®) LN) alone and chorfenapyr IRS alone. RESULTS: WHO resistance bioassays performed during the trial demonstrated a pyrethroid resistance frequency of >90% in the wild An. gambiae s.l. from the Cove hut site. Mortality in the control (untreated net) hut was 5%. Mortality with Interceptor(®) LN (24%) was lower than with chlorfenapyr IRS alone (59%, P < 0.001). The combined Interceptor(®) LN and chlorfenapyr IRS intervention and the mixture net (Interceptor(®) G2 LN) provided significantly higher mortality rates (73 and 76%, respectively) and these did not differ significantly between both treatments (P = 0.15). Interceptor LN induced 46% blood-feeding inhibition compared to the control untreated net, while chlorfenapyr IRS alone provided none. Both mixture/combination strategies also induced substantial levels of blood-feeding inhibition (38% with combined interventions and 30% with Interceptor(®) G2 LN). A similar trend of improved mortality of pyrethroid-resistant An. gambiae s.l. from Cove was observed with Interceptor(®) G2 LN (79%) compared to Interceptor LN (42%, P < 0.001) in WHO tunnel tests. CONCLUSION: The use of chlorfenapyr and alpha-cypermethrin together as a mixture on nets (Interceptor(®) G2 LN) or a combined chlorfenapyr IRS and pyrethroid LN intervention provides improved control of pyrethroid-resistant malaria vectors by inducing significantly higher levels of mortality through the chlorfenapyr component and providing personal protection through the pyrethroid component. Both strategies are comparable in their potential to improve the control of malaria transmitted by pyrethroid resistant mosquito vectors. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-1987-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.