KANCHANPUR, Oct 18: A study and research on the effectiveness of insecticides used against malaria-transmitting mosquitoes has begun in two districts of the Sudurpaschim Province.
The Entomology Laboratory of the Health Directorate in Rajpur, Doti, has started research in Kailali and Kanchanpur.
Three insecticides - Deltamethrin, Alpha-cypermethrin, and Lambda-cyhalothrin - have been used against mosquitoes for the past 25 years. The study on the effectiveness of the three insecticides is currently underway, according to Hem Raj Joshi, a Vector Control Supervisor Officer at the Health Directorate in Rajpur.
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"We are collecting mosquitoes from malaria-affected areas using a mouth aspirator," he said. "The collected mosquitoes are then taken to the lab for testing. In each study, 150 mosquitoes are examined at a time, and the lab testing process takes 26 hours to complete," he stated.
During the study, 100 mosquitoes are exposed to the insecticide, while 50 mosquitoes are kept in a separate tube without exposure to the insecticide for comparison, he explained. The mortality rates of the mosquitoes that were exposed and not exposed to the insecticide are analyzed to determine whether the insecticide was effective, said Officer Joshi.
According to him, the study has begun in the first phase from Bhimdutta Municipality-9 in Kanchanpur.
The mosquito species ‘Anopheles fluviatilis’ has been exposed to the insecticide Deltamethrin for study and research. In the second phase, the study will be conducted in malaria-affected areas of Kailali.
In India, nine species of mosquitoes are known to transmit malaria, but studies conducted in Nepal have found that three species-‘Anopheles fluviatilis’, ‘Anopheles maculatus complex’, and ‘Anopheles annularis’-are responsible for transmitting malaria.
Kailali and Kanchanpur are at high risk of malaria, a disease transmitted through mosquito bites.
From the beginning of the fiscal year 2023/24 to mid-July, the number of malaria patients in Sudurpaschim Province was 247, out of which 229 were imported cases.
