New malaria net shows promise against insecticide-resistant mosquitoes
Bed nets treated with piperonyl butoxide are proving helpful in the fight against malaria, which killed 445,000 people in 2016
London — A new kind of bed net that blocks mosquitoes’ resistance to a common insecticide provides substantially improved protection against malaria, a major study has found. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are rapidly evolving the ability to resist insecticides and the trait is spreading across Africa, putting millions of lives at risk. To counter the threat, scientists have developed a novel bed net incorporating the chemical piperonyl butoxide, which blocks the natural defence mechanisms of insects against the standard insecticide pyrethroid. In a two-year study involving more than 15,000 children in Tanzania, the new net reduced the prevalence of malaria by 44% and 33% in the first and second year respectively compared with a net treated only with pyrethroid. The findings were published in The Lancet. Promising results with the new nets have already prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to recommend their wider use. “It’s imperative we try to remain one step ahead of insectic...
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