In sub-Saharan Africa, cooler houses would increase the coverage of insecticide-treated bednets, the primary malaria control tool. We examined whether improved ventilation, using windows screened with netting, cools houses at night and reduces malaria mosquito house entry in The Gambia. Identical houses were constructed, with badly fitting doors the only mosquito entry points. Two men slept in each house and mosquitoes captured using light traps. First, temperature and mosquito density were compared in four houses with 0, 1, 2 and 3 screened windows. Second, carbon dioxide (CO₂), a major mosquito attractant, was measured in houses with (i) no windows, (ii) screened windows and (iii) screened windows and screened doors. Computational fluid dynamic modelling captured the spatial movement of CO₂. Increasing ventilation made houses cooler, more comfortable and reduced malaria mosquito house entry; with three windows reducing mosquito densities by 95% (95%CI = 90–98%). Screened windows and doors reduced the indoor temperature by 0.6°C (95%CI = 0.5–0.7°C), indoor CO₂ concentrations by 31% between 21.00 and 00.00 h and malaria mosquito entry by 76% (95%CI = 69–82%). Modelling shows screening reduces CO₂ plumes from houses. Under our experimental conditions, cross-ventilation not only reduced indoor temperature, but reduced the density of house-entering malaria mosquitoes, by weakening CO₂ plumes emanating from houses.

在撒哈拉以南非洲，凉爽的房屋将增加经杀虫剂处理的蚊帐的覆盖率，这是主要的疟疾控制工具。我们检查了改善通风，使用带有网纱的窗户，是否可以在夜间为房屋降温并减少冈比亚疟疾蚊子的进入。建造了相同的房屋，但不合适的门是唯一的蚊子进入点。两个男人睡在每个房子里，蚊子用光陷阱捕捉。首先，比较了 0、1、2 和 3 扇纱窗的四栋房屋的温度和蚊子密度。其次，二氧化碳 (CO ₂ ) 是一种主要的蚊子引诱剂，在 (i) 没有窗户、(ii) 纱窗和 (iii) 纱窗和纱门的房屋中进行了测量。计算流体动力学建模捕获了 CO _{2的空间运动}. 增加通风使房屋更凉爽、更舒适，并减少疟疾蚊子进入房屋；三个窗口可将蚊子密度降低 95% (95%CI = 90–98%)。屏蔽门窗使室内温度降低了 0.6°C (95%CI = 0.5–0.7°C)，室内 CO ₂浓度在 21.00 和 00.00 之间降低了 31%，疟疾蚊子进入降低了 76% (95%CI = 69– 82%）。建模显示筛选可减少房屋中的CO _2羽流。在我们的实验条件下，交叉通风不仅降低了室内温度，而且通过减弱从房屋散发的CO _{2羽流，降低了进入房屋的疟疾蚊子的密度。}