Overview

 The purpose of this document is to provide specific and standardized procedures and guidelines for testing larvicides, including bacterial larvicides and insect growth regulators (IGRs), against mosquitoes. Its aim is to harmonize the testing procedures carried out in different laboratories and institutions to generate data for the registration and labelling of larvicides by national authorities.

The document is an expanded and updated version of the guidelines recommended by the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) Informal Consultation on the evaluation and testing of insecticides, held at WHO headquarters (HQ), Geneva, 7–11 October 1996. The guidelines were reviewed and recommended by the Eighth WHOPES Working Group Meeting, held at WHO-HQ, Geneva, 1–3 December 2004.

The document provides guidance on laboratory studies and small-scale and large-scale field trials to determine the efficacy, field application rates and operational feasibility and acceptability of a mosquito larvicide. The table below summarizes the sequence and objectives of the studies and trials. The procedures provide some information on the safety and toxicity of the larvicides for non-target organisms, but it is presumed that preliminary eco-toxicity and human assessments have been undertaken before any field study is carried out – detailed treatment and analysis of these extra data are beyond the scope of this document.