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Article History

Received: 22 December 2025

Accepted: 25 March 2026

First Online: 28 March 2026

Declarations

:

: This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the National Institute of Medical Research [NIMR/HQ/R.8a/Vol.IX/3390], and the Institutional Review Board of the Ifakara Health Institute [IHI-IRB-No: 9-2020]. Each volunteer was provided with informed consent after a verbal explanation of the study design. Information sheets on the informed consent form included assurance of confidentiality, voluntary participation, potential risks and benefits associated with the study. The volunteers had the right to withdraw from the study at any time without justification. Upon arriving at a sentinel district for the first time, the research team engaged with local authorities by describing the purpose and importance of the study (including sharing national-level approvals and including ethical approval) and sought local approval for community entry. After receiving approvals from the local authorities, the research team visited village leaders at the central village office, where a project was introduced and permission was requested to carry out the research in their communities. This is the stage where households were randomly selected from village household listings as described above. With accompaniment from an appointed village representative, the research team visited the selected households and requested participation. The research team provided a brief overview of the project, describing the purpose of the study, potential benefit of the study to participating households and the wider community, as well as potential risks of participation and rights of withdrawal. Issues of confidentiality, voluntary participation, and procedures involved in data collection were explained. After obtaining written informed consent from the head of households, the team with the help of village leaders recruited and trained volunteers participating in sampling mosquitoes following volunteers own informed consent. Priority was given to individuals living in the same households. In cases where no one in the household was interested in participating, volunteers were recruited from neighbouring households. All these procedures were completed within a day or two before the actual implementation of the survey in the village.

: This study received permission to publish from the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Tanzania.

: The authors declare no competing interests.