Insecticide-treated bednets for control of domestic ticks and prevention of African tick-borne relapsing fever

A randomised controlled trial of insecticide-treated bednets for control of domestic ticks and prevention of African tick-borne relapsing fever

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN04521623

Enrollment

1472

Registered

2009-05-13

Start date

2003-01-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2015-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) Infections and Infestations Relapsing fevers

Interventions

This is a randomised controlled trial performed over 29 months

households are selected by two-stage random sampling and randomised to either receive insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) or no nets (control). Households in both arms were unmatched. Treated households

total net area of 2.7 sq m), of 75-denier polyester fibre (Tanzania manufacturing Textile Limited factory), impregnated with the pyrethroid lambdacyhalothrin (ICONET

Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Basel, Switzerland), using NGAO sachets (dosage of 55.6 mg/m^2) locally marketed for malaria control. Nets were retreated by staff at time of distribution and at 6, 18 and

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: All members of families living in traditional style constructed ?tembe? houses (rectangular with a flat roof of sod or earth supported by poles and walls of mud plastered wicker or sun-dried bricks) were eligible for inclusion.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Families living in households in which floors and walls were plastered with cement and/or roofed with corrugated metal were excluded because it has long been known that they are rarely, if ever, infested with ticks

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Percentages of households infested with O. moubata s.l. (domestic infestations with the soft tick vector of TBRF), numbers of O. moubata s.l. per house (tick-density) and incidence of Borrelia infections in under five year-old children. Surveys were carried out at baseline, with five follow-ups at 3, 7, 15, 18 and 25 months post-intervention.	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Using a structured questionnaire, studies on knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours with regard to the efficacy of ITNs in reducing tick infestations and tick-biting and their perceived benefits were conducted in April 2004 (14 months after the trial began) and at the end of the trial (April 2005). In the latter study, behaviours in the control households and the practice of anti-tick activities were additionally investigated in response to perceived anomalies in the data collected in the previous 12 months.	—

Measure

Time frame

Using a structured questionnaire, studies on knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours with regard to the efficacy of ITNs in reducing tick infestations and tick-biting and their perceived benefits were conducted in April 2004 (14 months after the trial began) and at the end of the trial (April 2005). In the latter study, behaviours in the control households and the practice of anti-tick activities were additionally investigated in response to perceived anomalies in the data collected in the previous 12 months.

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Countries

Tanzania

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026