Design of an Odour Baited Mosquito Trap for Malaria Prevention in Africa

Abstract

If used alongside insecticide treated bed nets, an innovative odour baited mosquito trap with a high capture performance could contribute massively to the prevention of malaria in Africa and the eradication of the disease. This report outlines the research and design processes carried out by Henry Fairbairn, with the support of a supervisory team from consisting of members from the Technical University of Delft and Wageningen University and Research.
The SolarMal Project was the first trial to investigate the impact of odour baited mosquito suction traps as a tool for vector control and malaria prevention.
Results from the clinical study show that the implementation of mosquito traps across the island of Rusinga, Kenya, lead to a 30% reduction in cases of malaria and 70% reduction in the Anopheles population (Homan et al. 2016). However, further research into mosquito escape behaviour showed the Suna-Trap, used in the SolarMal Trial, had a poor capture performance with less than 4% of approach flights resulting in capture (Cribellier et al. 2018). A study by N.Tubben found that the majority users in were unable to maintain the Solar powered mosquito trapping systems after the project. To be an effective tool for prevention of malaria, it must be possible for users in Africa to sustain the working condition of the trap to continue to reduce biting and even prevent resurgence.
Based on findings from this research and an iterative R&D process outlined in this report, it was possible to design an concept for an innovative mosquito trap with a high capture performance which is suitable for further lab testing and field testing.
A number if concepts were tested in order to highlight how variant factor effect performance compared to the Suna-Trap. Each concept tested should include as few variables compared to the benchmark Suna-Trap to clearly conclude on how the variant effects performance.
Although the testing is not thorough enough to make any scientific conclusions, there is enough data to make a conclusion as to whether incorporating the feature into a new design will increase the capture rate. High performing principals can be further tested in the future. From evaluations of the hypotheses it can be concluded that the additions of heat and moisture increase the capture rate in comparison to a standard Suna-Trap under lab conditions.
The addition of hot water and a heating element above the trap canopy showed the most notable improvement compared to the BG Suna-Trap in terms of capture performance. It is thought that the additional heat and moisture in the trap prove more attractive to the target vectors increasing the number of approach flights resulting in more flights into the capture zone.
Considering the context factors as well as performance factors highlighted in the research, the final design aims to provide a high performance mosquito trapping solution of which is suitable for use in Africa.