Malaria N° 9 - Subject N° 7

INSECTICIDE TREATED MATERIALS IN MALARIA CONTROL
H.A. Mwenesi

SUMMARY
With the discovery of DDT and the development of the wonder drug chloroquine, malaria seemed to have been conquered only several decades ago.
However, the development of resistance against insecticides and of the parasite against chloroquine in the early sixties set in in motion the complex scenario that exists in the fight against malaria to date.
Several methods have been used over the years to reduce man-mosquito contact such as residual spraying, environmental management and other biological control methods. This has happened parallel to the development of new drugs and hopefully a vaccine in the not so distant future.

Recently, simple methods such as the use of bednets for personal protection against mosquitoes have been revisited. Bednets have gained more currency especially with the concept of impregnating materials with insecticide. This paper will discuss the role of insecticide-treated materials In general which include bednets and curtains among others, as they have been shown to be a viable, simple effective fool in the reduction of morbidity and mortality.