The Solution
Perlite is a new active ingredient (ai) with proven long-term residual activity on brick, cement, and mud when applied as an Indoor Residual Spray (IRS)
It provides a mechanical mode of action (rapid adsorption of lipid layers necessary for the mosquito’s survival) and is a powerful complementary new tool in any integrated Vector Management program.
Target Insecticide Resistance Action Committee mode of action: UNM: Non-specific mechanical disruptors
A mechanical mode of action has the potential to overcome cuticle resistance (to be confirmed)
A 2018 randomized single-blinded 2-arm community-level trial versus a gold standard IRS, a perlite ai* provided entomological evidence that it is effective at controlling malaria (sporozoite rate) and met the target efficacy threshold (>80% mortality at 72 hours) for 11 consecutive months.
In total 13,540 houses were treated with IRS and 48, 152 people were protected.
There were no serious adverse events in either treatment arm among sprayers or residents.
Both treatment arms were well received by residents.
Perlite active ingredient IRS being applied on brick substrate in Ebuyu, Tanzania in 2018