Knowledge of mosquitos in relation to public and domestic control activities in the cities of Dar es Salaam and Tanga.

Abstract

A study of community awareness of mosquitos and related subjects in the residential areas of two Tanzanian cities (Dar es Salaam and Tanga) showed that residents were well aware of mosquitos. Almost all claimed to use some form of domestic mosquito control product for their personal protection, and many spend a significant portion of the household income on this. The problems of nuisance-biting and malaria transmission are usually not separated and are considered to be the result of poor environmental hygiene, for which both residents and local authorities are responsible. Although Culex mosquitos are not a primary target of the Urban Malaria Control Project (UMCP), the persistence of nuisance-biting has made residents sceptical and dissatisfied with insecticide spraying. The residents' priorities are evidently not the same as those of the health authorities, yet mutual cooperation is essential. In order to maintain community support, campaigns aimed at malaria vectors should consider the need for additional measures to control Culex mosquitos, such as those now being tried by the UMCP. Mosquito breeding sites are non-specifically associated with rubbish and standing water of all kinds, and so the actions that the community considers necessary for mosquito source reduction tend to be poorly targeted. Residents do not recognize that some sources produce malaria mosquitos while others produce nuisance mosquitos. The environmental anti-mosquito measures currently promoted by health education and other forms of propaganda are also poorly targeted. While some of them are directed at important Culex breeding sites, others are aimed at sites of little importance for mosquitos of any kind.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)