Window Design for Mosquito Control: An Architectural Solution for Reducing Malaria Burden in Tropical African Homes

Housing design in tropical regions of Africa necessitates that windows are created for natural ventilation and aeration of indoor spaces. However, the menace of malaria carrying mosquitos makes natural ventilation more risky that comforting. Naturally in most buildings in this region, windows are designed to integrate both the functions of passive (natural) ventilation and mosquito repelling, which is achieved by the adoption of mosquito netted-screens. However, review of existing mosquito screening designs identified in the study region, indicates the existence of interlude periods between operating the netted screens and opening of windows panels. These minute interlude periods when the windows are exposed to the open environment, is responsible for the admittance of mosquitos and other harmful insects. This study presents a design option for mosquito screening which provides homes with constant aeration periods and zero contact with vectors via the windows. While a typical/conventional window design in this region consists of Mosquito screening systems (MSS) comprising of two or more layers of openings which harbor tendencies of exposure to the outdoor malaria vectors, the optimized design presented in this study nullifies this tendency of exposure. During the course of operating the netted and main window panels of a typical two layered MSS, the interlude period provides sufficient time frame (mostly within the range of 10 seconds) for the influx of vectors, this timeframe is totally eliminated by the optimized MSS, which provided zero obstruction timeframe while operating the system. Comparative review of the screening systems showed significant mosquito repelling capability by the optimized MSS compared to conventional ones. This is a significant result as most homes in tropical environments depend largely on open windows for natural cooling and ventilation and thus, the option of operating windows without interruption from the MSS is indispensable in achieving mosquito-free indoor spaces.