TRADITIONAL USE OF MOSQUITO REPELLENT PLANTS AND TESTING THEIR REPELLENCY IN FIELD TRIALS AROUND GILGELGIBE RESEARCH CENTRE, JIMMA ZONE, SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA

Background and Aims: Although local plants as mosquito repellents are known and used among the different cultures of Africa and beyond, little effort is done to document about the knowledge, usage pattern and their repellency potential in Ethiopia in general and specifically around Gilgelgibe Field Research Centre, Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. This study was aimed to assess the ethno botanical knowledge and usage custom of traditional mosquito repellent plants among the inhabitants of Gilgelgibe Field Research Centre, and evaluating the mean percentage repellency of candidate plants. Methods: Community based cross-sectional quantitative study and pilot field repellency test using candidate five potted mosquito repellent plants was conducted from January 19 to April 10, 2010. The total sample consisted of 417 households for quantitative study. Data were collected using a pre-tested interviewer administered structured questionnaire and by vector collectors for field test. The quantitative data were clean...