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ABSTRACT
A survey was conducted in four malaria endemic, tribal dominated districts of Srikakulam, Vizainagaram, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, to note the quality of ongoing Indoor Residual Spray (IRS). Both concurrent and consecutive supervision was done to find out house coverage, room coverage, house and room refusal rates, technical knowledge of spray crew and condition of pumps. A very high room refusal rate varying between 74.6 to 88.8 per cent was noted in the study areas. Outer surface of the houses and cattle sheds were sprayed with the insecticide which diluted the objective of IRS. There is a need to generate mass awareness through Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) about IRS operations in order to overcome the shortcomings. IRS operations should be carried out in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) and National Programme guide lines on the subject under strict supervision.
Keywords: Indoor Residual Spray (IRS), Behavioral Change Communication (BCC), Enhanced Malaria Control Programme (EMCP), Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), Annual Parasitic Incidence (API), Slide Positivity Rate (SPR)
INTRODUCTION
Malaria is one of the major public health problems in Andhra Pradesh. In 2006, out of 1785129 malaria cases reported in India, Andhra Pradesh contributed to 34081 cases of which 59.6 percent were due to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) infection. Out of 23 districts, five tribal dominated districts namely Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Khammam are notorious for transmission of Pf malaria. World Bank is assisting financially Malaria control in these five districts1.
Effective control of vector borne diseases like malaria are possible by early diagnosis and prompt treatment on one hand and effective vector control following integrated approach on the other hand. Various methods of control of malaria in this region have been adopted including integrated vector control through selective spraying of residual insecticides by reducing vector longevity and the use of insecticide treated bed nets k
Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) remains the most widely used malaria vector control method with the objective to kill mosquitoes entering houses and resting on sprayed surface. Its application has been thoroughly standardized with clear specifications for suitable equipment and insecticides. Successful 1RS is possible on the ability of organizers to organize the delivery of satisfactory insecticide spraying on time to all malarious areas. Supervision of...