"The goal here is to kill mosquitoes and other insects that cause disease. The gear does make one very hot, but that's not a problem. And what we do is very well received by the community. But only a few local governments are doing this. I hope this program can be expanded. It's really important. Malaria killed a member of my own family".
Control of malaria means keeping mosquitoes away from people. The best way to do this is with nets or spraying. These men spray insecticides in homes. It is an effective, but labor intensive, thus expensive.
It has been over 20 years since a new class of insecticide was last introduced for use in public health. The reality is that all insecticides used in public health sectors were initially developed for the agriculture market. The appearance of mosquito resistance to insecticides is sometimes a consequence of their use - and abuse - in the agriculture sector. Without monetary incentives it is unlikely that companies will ever aggressively devote substantial funding to research and development of insecticides exclusively for human disease vector control.
