information:classification
Indoor residual spraying

Indoor residual spraying is the spraying of insecticides on the walls inside a home. After feeding, many mosquitoes rest on a nearby surface while digesting the bloodmeal, so if the walls of houses have been coated with insecticides, the resting mosquitoes can be killed before they can bite another person and transfer the malaria parasite. As of 2006, the World Health Organization recommends 12 insecticides in IRS operations, including DDT and the pyrethroids cyfluthrin and deltamethrin. This public health use of small amounts of DDT is permitted under the Stockholm Convention, which prohibits its agricultural use. One problem with all forms of IRS is insecticide resistance. Mosquitoes affected by IRS tend to rest and live indoors, and due to the irritation caused by spraying, their descendants tend to rest and live outdoors, meaning that they are less affected by the IRS. Communities using insecticide treated nets, in addition to indoor residual spraying with 'non-pyrethroid-like' insecticides found associated reductions in malaria. Additionally, the use of 'pyrethroid-like' insecticides in addition to indoor residual spraying did not result in a detectable additional benefit in communities using insecticide treated nets.