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Insecticide-treated nets were considered a groundbreaking technology in preventing the spread of malaria when they were introduced 25 years ago. However, they are limited by increasing insecticide resistance and mosquito activity where nets are unavailable.
To determine whether odor-baited traps can lower densities of mosquitoes and reduce the prevalence of malaria, investigators conducted a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial of solar-powered, odor-baited traps that operated from dusk to dawn beside houses on an island in western Kenya from June 2013 to May 2015. The traps used a blend of five chemical attractants that mimic human odor plus a carbon-dioxide mimic (2-butanone). Overall, 4358 households participated and were assigned to c…