ArticleMalaria journal2026
Design matters: structural variation in experimental huts significantly alters entomological endpoints in insecticide treated net (ITN) evaluation -a comparative experimental hut trial using a latin square design in Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire.
Article in Malaria journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExperimental huts are the gold standard for the semi-field evaluation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) but the design of the huts used varies markedly between sites. Structural differences may influence mosquito behaviour - and, consequently, the measured efficacy of ITNs. This raises concerns about the comparability, validity, and policy relevance of trial outcomes. We assessed the influence of four commonly used hut designs on entomological endpoints central to ITN evaluations.
methodsA 126-night comparative trial was conducted in Tanzania, using 18 experimental huts in two contiguous 9 × 9 Latin squares. Four hut types-East African, West African, Ifakara, and Rapley-were tested with PRONet Duo, Interceptor
resultsA total of 22611 Anopheles gambiae s.l. (99.9% An. arabiensis) were collected. Rapley and Ifakara huts captured over six times more mosquitoes than East African huts (rate ratio [RR] = 6.50 and 6.22, respectively; both p < 0.0001), whereas West African huts caught 88% fewer mosquitoes (RR = 0.12, p < 0.0001). West African huts recorded the highest mortality (70%) and blood feeding (15%) whilst the other hut types recorded 40-46% mortality and 3-8% blood feeding. All hut designs and the West African sister trial detected the same direction of effect between PRONet Duo and Interceptor
conclusionsExperimental hut design substantially affected key entomological outcomes, influencing both the magnitude of measured efficacy of ITNs and the statistical power of trials. Whilst relative product performance was broadly consistent across designs, absolute values varied widely, underscoring the need for greater standardisation of hut architecture in ITN evaluations. Harmonising experimental hut designs and reporting standards would strengthen cross-site comparability, improving the reliability of vector control product assessments, and enhancing the evidence base for global malaria control policy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.