Effectiveness of disinsection of conveyances to prevent or reduce the spread of mosquito vectors via international travel: evidence reviews

Overview

Treatment of aircraft with insecticide in a procedure referred to as “disinsection” is recommended to prevent dispersal of arthropod vectors internationally and to mitigate the globalization of vector-borne infectious diseases. However, the full spectrum of vector- and human-based outcomes, along with standard decisional considerations of aircraft disinsection, have not been recently synthesized. Moreover, there is a paucity of synthesized information regarding the efficacy, safety and general utility of marine, rail and land conveyance disinsection.

Using an evidence-based knowledge synthesis approach, we examined the effectiveness of disinsection for eradicating adult mosquitoes aboard international air, marine and land conveyances, and additionally investigated the human safety, toxicity and tolerability of insecticides applied for the purpose of mosquito disinsection. We further synthesized the surveillance literature of mosquitoes aboard aircraft, ships, trains and buses and in proximity to international conveyances at points of entry, submarine bases and spacecraft stations in order to understand the potential for importation of mosquito vectors of pathogens and subsequent transmission of mosquito-borne infectious diseases in the receiving country (that is, the country of arrival).