More sustainable integrated vector management strategies are needed for malaria control

Insecticide resistance is threatening the effectiveness of insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor insecticide sprays to control adult mosquito vectors, and so more sustainable integrated management strategies that use optimal suites of control tactics are needed.

These are the arguments of Willem Takken from the Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands and colleagues in this week's PLoS Medicine.

Experience in agriculture suggests that such integrated approaches can provide more effective and durable pest management, say the authors, which will require increased investment in research and translational science. Failure to act risks a resurgence of malaria and erosion of community support and donor commitment, argue the authors.