Traditional use of indigenous mosquito-repellents to protect humans against mosquitoes and other insect bites in a rural community of Cameroon.

OBJECTIVE To document and test the efficacy of indigenous traditional personal protection methods against mosquito bites and general nuisance. DESIGN A prospective study based on a survey and field evaluation of selected plant-based personal protection methods against mosquito bites. SETTING Bolifamba, a rural setting of the Mount Cameroon region. SUBJECTS A structured questionnaire was administered to 179 respondents and two anti-mosquito measures were tested under field conditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Identified traditional anti-mosquito methods used by indigenes of Bolifamba. Two plants tested under field conditions were found to be effective. RESULTS Of the 179 respondents, 88 (49.16%) used traditional anti-mosquito methods; 57 (64.77%) used plant-based methods while 31 (35.2%) used various petroleum oils. The rest of the respondents, 91 (50.8%) used conventional personal protection methods. Reasons for using traditional methods were because they were available, affordable and lack of known more effective alternatives. The demerits of these methods were: labourious to implement, stain dresses, produce a lot of smoke/ repulsive odours when used; those of conventional methods were lack of adequate information about them, high cost and non-availability. When the two most frequently used plants, Saccharum officinarium and Ocimum basilicum were evaluated under field conditions, each gave a better protection than the control. CONCLUSION Most plants used against mosquitoes in the area are known potent mosquito repellents but others identified in the study warrant further research. The two tested under field conditions were effective though less than the commonly used commercial diethyltoluamide.