Field Trials

Current malaria control strategies are based on interventions aimed at either reducing exposure to infectious bites or at chemosupressing the parasite while in the host. In brief, the most commonly used methods to reduce exposure have relied on trying to reduce the number of adult vectors with the use of insecticides, often through residual indoor spraying, or aiming to reduce human vector contact through bednets, repellents, or insecticide-treated materials. Measures aimed against the parasite are based on the use of drugs either as treatment or as prophylaxis. The emergence and spread of resistance against the most commonly used drugs as well as the limitations in the use of insecticides, coupled with the technological developments of the last 30 years, have accelerated the impetus to develop and test new drugs and vaccines against malaria.