A brief history of malaria vector control

Michael Macdonald explains how malaria vector control strategies evolved over the 20th century.

Sir Ronald Ross discovered the mosquitoes’ role in malaria transmission at the turn of the 20th century. In his publication “Theory of Happenings”, he then established the rationale for mosquito control strategies that ushered in the era of insecticide-based vector control. There are lessons from the past that are applicable to the future of malaria vector control.

Dr. Michael Macdonald explores how our strategies and tools over the past century have evolved. He describes the mathematical underpinnings of vector control. If you are not familiar with the theory, some of the expressions used might need explanation:

R-Naught (R0): This value indicates the average number of people that might be infected by a person who has a socially transmittable disease.

Anthropophily: Greek, anthropos (human) and philos (friend) ανθρωποφιλία, meaning the preference of mosquitoes for feeding on humans.