JM Innovations



Illinois Ag News Headlines
SIUE's Santos Uses Research to Support Fight Against Malaria
Illinois Ag Connection - 10/25/2021

The World Health Organization's endorsement of the use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in children is groundbreaking in the fight against the deadly disease, even in spite of its modest effectiveness rate. That's why the vaccine will be part of a broader arsenal of malaria prevention tools including one Ellen Santos, PhD, assistant professor in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Department of Applied Health, is working to improve.

Santos is partnering with Fredros Okumu, PhD, and the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania to assess the potential for manufacturing sturdier Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs), commonly known as mosquito nets, locally within the country. These nets contain insecticides embedded within the fabric to provide protection against mosquitoes while sleeping. However, they are often mass-produced outside of sub-Saharan Africa and made of flimsy plastic material.

"Our goal is to determine whether it is possible and desirable for local Tanzanian communities to have locally-produced mosquito nets even if they do not contain insecticide," said Santos, who received an SIUE Seed Grant for Transitional and Exploratory Projects to fund her collaboration with IHI.

Working with SIUE Graduate Assistant Tatyana Curtis and two of Okumu's colleagues, Santos and Okumu will survey communities about the current LLIN design and desired improvements. They also will work to determine Tanzanians' willingness to purchase nets that are sturdier, more sustainable and locally produced.

"Depending on survey results, we plan to hire a local tailor to construct a net prototype, considering the features that are needed by the local communities," explained Santos. "We will host focus groups to demonstrate the new net model to local community members and obtain their feedback."

Santos decided to focus her research in this area after learning about the unsustainability of LLINs from both an environmental and public health intervention standpoint.

"Billions of LLINs have been distributed across the globe, and what happens when they are no longer useful? They often are repurposed, but ultimately they end up as plastic waste and often as plastic pollution," said Santos. "Most are manufactured outside of sub-Saharan Africa, causing concerns over lack of economic benefit to populations most impacted by malaria, in addition to concerns with supply chain issues like we are currently seeing in the COVID-19 pandemic."

Santos and Okumu initiated this project in September 2020 and anticipate a June 2022 completion date. They believe their findings will be beneficial not only for this project, but also for future collaborative work, because while the newly-approved malaria vaccine is an important step forward in the fight to eliminate malaria, the disease won't be eradicated without a slew of other prevention tools.

"In combination with other malaria prevention tools and efforts, the addition of the vaccine offers a lot of hope in making much bigger progress toward malaria elimination," said Santos. "The most important piece of this is that the vaccine is not a replacement for other interventions--it is a tool to be added onto."


Other Illinois Headlines
Hixwood Metal
Zabel Equipment
Copyright © 2024 - Farms.com. All Rights Reserved.