Malaria kills almost half a million people worldwide every year, with majority of cases in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. These regions have been confirmed to have malaria parasites with resistance to standard combination therapy for malaria. In a promising study, an international team of scientists have found that treating fabric with insecticide could serve as one of the methods of preventing mosquito bites.
The team evaluated the potential for insecticide-treated fabric to dispel mosquitoes using a large piece of fabric soaked with Transfluthrin, a synthetic insecticide. The fabric was placed in an enclosure and mosquitoes were exposed to it. The team saw that mosquitoes died faster and in large amounts closer to the fabric within 24 hours.
This study shows promise in the management of this deadly disease that kills hundreds of millions of people – especially children – yearly.
Read more here – https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/allnews/media-releases/anti-mosquito-fabrics
