An Aedes Aegypti mosquito on human skin. Picture: AFP PHOTO / LUIS ROBAYO
With the goal of eradicating malaria in the near future, pharmaceutical giant Bayer has released a new product they say is more effective and 40% cheaper than other indoor residual spray (IRS) products on the market.
Bayer launched Fludora Fusion yesterday. It said the product was the first to combine two unrelated modes of action which increase its effectiveness.
It is currently in a tender process whereby the key endemic countries in Africa would be introduced to the product and would decide how and where to spray it with the help of the World Health Organisation.
Malaria graphic.
Head of Global Vegetable Seeds & Environmental Science at Bayer Dr Jacqueline Appelgate said: “Insecticide resistance is one of the biggest threats to eradicating malaria, largely because of reliance on a very limited number of insecticides that are effective in vector control interventions against malaria-carrying mosquitos.
“In the context of this urgent need for new modes of action in malaria vector control, Fludora® Fusion represents a major step forward in eradicating malaria.
“It is also of great concern that the prevalence of malaria areas has expanded with low or very low transmission starting to appear in some districts previously regarded as malaria-free areas in South Africa and elsewhere.”
Appelgate added that malaria had declined due to IRS use and bed nets, but in the past two years there had been a significant increase due to the insects becoming resistant.
She said the new product’s two modes of action could break the resistance and kill the disease cycle. This would eradicate the disease over time.
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