Endectocides for malaria control

Abstract

Systemic endectocidal drugs, used to control nematodes in humans and other vertebrates, can be toxic to Anopheles spp. mosquitoes when they take a blood meal from a host that has recently received one of these drugs. Recent laboratory and field studies have highlighted the potential of ivermectin to control malaria parasite transmission if this drug is distributed strategically and more often. There are important theoretical benefits to this strategy, as well as caveats. A better understanding of drug effects against vectors and malaria ecologies are needed. In the near future, ivermectin and other endectocides could serve as potent and novel malaria transmission control tools that are directly linked to the control of neglected tropical diseases in the same communities.