Responses of Anopheles balabacensis to various patterns of DDT-spraying of shelters in Sabah, East Malaysia

In certain areas of Sabah, East Malaysia, local houses are frequently built without walls or with incomplete walls. Also, the people in these areas often refuse permission for their houses to be sprayed inside with insecticide (DDT). These special conditions are the reason for the persistence of malaria transmission under a WHO malaria eradication programme.Field trials were conducted in specially constructed huts, similar to the local houses, in which all-night collections of mosquitos were made, both those biting human baits and those resting on walls, in order to determine (1) the effectiveness of spraying DDT in houses without, or with incomplete, walls; and (2) the best way to protect people against mosquito bites with DDT-spraying where the house-owners have refused indoor spraying.The results indicate that (1) as expected, DDT-spraying inside a hut with incomplete walls is less effective than in a hut with complete walls, especially 6 months or more after spraying; (2) external spraying of walls with DDT at double the normal dose (i.e., 4 g/m(2)) greatly reduced contacts between man and mosquito and thereby limited transmission of malaria.