Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40490768›Full record

Trial reportMalaria journal2025

Inter-cluster contamination: a semivariance analysis of community effect ranges of malaria vector control interventions in a four-armed malaria trial in Muleba, Tanzania.

Charles Thickstun, Eliud Lukole, Jacklin F Mosha, Alphaxard Manjurano, Immo Kleinschmidt, Franklin W Mosha, Jacques Derek Charlwood, Mark Rowland, Ann Jolly, Alice Zwerling and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialClinical Trial, Phase III
In one paragraph

Trial report in Malaria journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Impact of Insecticide-Treated Nets onTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026
    Article
  2. Comparative malaria impact of chlorfenapyr-α-cypermethrin netsCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Charles ThickstunSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Charles.Thickstun@uOttawa.ca.
Eliud LukoleDepartment of Parasitology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza Medical Research Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania.
Jacklin F MoshaDepartment of Parasitology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza Medical Research Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania.
Alphaxard ManjuranoDepartment of Parasitology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza Medical Research Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania.
Immo KleinschmidtMRC International Statistics and Epidemiology Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Franklin W MoshaDepartment of Parasitology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
Jacques Derek CharlwoodDepartment of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Mark RowlandDepartment of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Ann JollySchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Alice ZwerlingSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Natacha ProtopopoffDepartment of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Manisha KulkarniSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe presence of a community effect in cluster randomized trials of malaria vector control interventions has led to the implementation of "buffer zones" around clusters to limit the potential for contamination between interventions. No consensus has been reached on how large these buffers need to be to encapsulate the effect.

methodsNested within a phase-III cluster randomized malaria vector control trial in Northwest Tanzania, this study aims to determine the presence and spatial range of community effects from long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) interventions on household-level malaria infection in trial clusters four months post-intervention. Effective spatial range estimates of intervention community effects were compared to the 300m buffer distance implemented to limit intervention spillover between clusters in the trial. Geographically-weighted adjusted odds of malaria infection in children aged 0.5-14 years were determined four months post community-level intervention with a randomized allocation comprising one of two LLIN products (Olyset

results6440 children from 2785 households were included in the geographically-weighted logistic regression. Prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection was 45.9% in the study population. Twenty (20) clusters had significant residual effect ranges, 13 of which were fit to Sine Hole Effect models, indicating periodicity in the study area. Effective range estimates for the study area had a median value of 1210 m (IQR: 958-1691). Clusters with IRS had a higher median range value: 1535 m (IQR: 976-3398) than those without IRS: 1168m (IQR: 829-1504).

conclusionsSignificant semivariogram model range estimates extended beyond the trial buffer sizes by a median average of 868 m in LLIN intervention clusters and 1235 m for IRS clusters. This presents a contamination, or spillover, potential for all trialed intervention types that may reduce the statistical power to detect difference between trial arms. Future studies should consider the ranges of intervention effects and contamination potential between trial arms when designing buffer areas.

Indexed as

InsecticidesInsecticide-Treated BednetsMalariaMalaria, FalciparumMosquito ControlAdolescentAnimalsChildChild, PreschoolCluster AnalysisFemaleHumansInfantMaleMosquito VectorsTanzaniaInsecticidesBufferCommunity effectMalariaSemivarianceSpatial analysis

Identifiers

PMID40490768
PMCPMC12150443

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.