The Bed Net That Keeps Malaria Away

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According to The Lancet’s research published today, millions of cases of malaria can be prevented with the new type of bed net.

The clinical trial in Burkina Faso, West Africa resulted in the reduction of the cases of clinical malaria by 12 percent with this new type of mosquito net.

What were the results of the trial?

  • The new mosquito net reduced the malaria cases by 12 percent.
  • The new bet nets helped children become 52 percent less likely to develop malaria anemia.
  • The areas that got these bed nets had a reduction of malaria risks of 51 percent.

The female Anopheles mosquitoes or the blood-seeking malaria mosquitoes can no longer be killed by insecticides.

According to WHO (World Health Organisation), because these mosquitos are resistant to the insecticide used for the bed nets, the number of malaria-infected people started to go up compared to the beginning of the millennium. More people are getting infected by these Anopheles, and it worries researchers.

The solution

Researchers came with a new idea. For the areas where the mosquito is resistant to the c insecticide, they came up with a combination of chemicals to use on their nets.

The combination of chemicals shortens the lives of mosquitos, kill them, repels them and reduces their ability to reproduce. In order to achieve these results, the researchers used pyrethroid and pyriproxyfen.

If combined, this substances will kill the mosquitoes and reduce the number of bites that might end up infective. This combination is way better than the sole use of pyrethroid.

This combination is considered better than the traditional bed nets especially for the areas where the mosquitos are already resistant to the pyrethroid because they are resting likely to develop resistance to this combination as well.

As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.