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© 2011 Gidwani et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited: Gidwani K, Picado A, Rijal S, Singh SP, Roy L, et al. (2011) Serological Markers of Sand Fly Exposure to Evaluate Insecticidal Nets against Visceral Leishmaniasis in India and Nepal: A Cluster-Randomized Trial. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5(9): e1296. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001296

Abstract

Background

Visceral leishmaniasis is the world' second largest vector-borne parasitic killer and a neglected tropical disease, prevalent in poor communities. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LNs) are a low cost proven vector intervention method for malaria control; however, their effectiveness against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is unknown. This study quantified the effect of LNs on exposure to the sand fly vector of VL in India and Nepal during a two year community intervention trial.

Methods

As part of a paired-cluster randomized controlled clinical trial in VL-endemic regions of India and Nepal we tested the effect of LNs on sand fly biting by measuring the antibody response of subjects to the saliva of Leishmania donovani vector Phlebotomus argentipes and the sympatric (non-vector) Phlebotomus papatasi. Fifteen to 20 individuals above 15 years of age from 26 VL endemic clusters were asked to provide a blood sample at baseline, 12 and 24 months post-intervention.

Results

A total of 305 individuals were included in the study, 68 participants provided two blood samples and 237 gave three samples. A random effect linear regression model showed that cluster-wide distribution of LNs reduced exposure to P. argentipes by 12% at 12 months (effect 0.88; 95% CI 0.83-0.94) and 9% at 24 months (effect 0.91; 95% CI 0.80-1.02) in the intervention group compared to control adjusting for baseline values and pair. Similar results were obtained for P. papatasi.

Conclusions

This trial provides evidence that LNs have a limited effect on sand fly exposure in VL endemic communities in India and Nepal and supports the use of sand fly saliva antibodies as a marker to evaluate vector control interventions.

Details

Title
Serological Markers of Sand Fly Exposure to Evaluate Insecticidal Nets against Visceral Leishmaniasis in India and Nepal: A Cluster-Randomized Trial
Author
Gidwani, Kamlesh; Picado, Albert; Rijal, Suman; Singh, Shri Prakash; Roy, Lalita; Volfova, Vera; Andersen, Elisabeth Wreford; Uranw, Surendra; Ostyn, Bart; Sudarshan, Medhavi; Chakravarty, Jaya; Volf, Petr; Sundar, Shyam; Boelaert, Marleen; Rogers, Matthew Edward
Pages
e1296
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2011
Publication date
Sep 2011
Publisher
Public Library of Science
ISSN
19352727
e-ISSN
19352735
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1288111221
Copyright
© 2011 Gidwani et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited: Gidwani K, Picado A, Rijal S, Singh SP, Roy L, et al. (2011) Serological Markers of Sand Fly Exposure to Evaluate Insecticidal Nets against Visceral Leishmaniasis in India and Nepal: A Cluster-Randomized Trial. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5(9): e1296. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001296