Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 119 | Published: 14 Oct 2026
Emmanuel George Bachan1,2,&, Martin Nyaaba Adokiya3, Charles Tobin-West2
1Bono Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Sunyani, Ghana, 2School of Public Health, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 3School of Public Health, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Emmanuel George Bachan, Bono Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Sunyani, Ghana, Email: bachangeorge@yahoo.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0116-5723
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 30 Aug 2026, Published: 14 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Spatial, larviciding, malaria control, Bono, Ghana
©Emmanuel George Bachan et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Emmanuel George Bachan et al., Spatial impact of larviciding in the control of malaria incidence in Bono Region, Ghana. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):119. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-00119
Malaria remains a major public health challenge in Ghana’s Bono Region, with persistent transmission gaps despite conventional malaria control interventions. While larviciding shows promise, its localized impact on transmission hotspots remains inadequately quantified. This study evaluated its effectiveness in reducing malaria incidence among individuals aged ≥5 years, emphasizing the role of spatial surveillance in guiding targeted malaria control efforts.
A quasi-experimental study with a control group was conducted using a multi-stage sampling technique to select participants for the household malaria incidence survey. Within a quasi-experimental design, we compared an intervention district (with larvicide intervention) and a control district (without larvicide intervention). Data were collected via household malaria surveys in 2024 using structure questionnaire. Additionally, health facility monthly malaria records were reviewed and extracted from the DHIMS database from 2020 to 2023. Spatial analysis using SaTScan and QGIS was conducted to map positive malaria cases and population density, evaluate the intervention’s geographic impact on hotspot formation, and guide resource allocation.
SaTScan analysis identified four statistically significant malaria clusters (all with p=0.001) in control sub-districts. In contrast, intervention sub-districts exhibited no significant hotspots (p=0.1 – 0.8), demonstrating that larvicide intervention contributed to disrupting localized malaria transmission patterns. Health facility records post-intervention indicated 80% of sub-districts in the intervention district reported low (50-99 cases) per 1000 population, compared to only 25% of sub-districts in the control district.
Larviciding was spatially effective, averting transmission hotspots in the intervention district compared to the control district. Integrating routine spatial surveillance in larviciding enhances precision in vector control, supporting the adoption of comprehensive, geographically informed integrated vector management frameworks. Strengthening digital surveillance is essential for sustained impact and accelerated malaria elimination.
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