According to the WHO
World malaria report 2011, there were about 216 million cases of malaria and an estimated 6,55,000 deaths in the year
2010. Most malaria related deaths occur among children living in Africa where a
child dies every minute from malaria. Long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito
nets (LLINs) have revolutionized malaria prevention, and have the potential to
save millions of lives and according to an estimate, for every 1,000 children
protected by an insecticide-treated net, five to six lives would be saved every
year. Thus, WHO recommends the usage of LLINs as a crucial method to combat
malaria.
A recent study published in the Journal of
Infectious Diseases by Nicolas Moiroux and colleagues from France has revealed
that following the usage of LLINs, there is a switch in the biting behavior of
the malaria vector mosquitoes. When the mosquito behavior before and after all
households in two villages in Benin were given insecticide-treated nets, were
investigated, the researchers observed that the mosquitoes seemed to change
their peak aggression hours of biting from 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. to around 5 a.m.,
when the people are usually out of the net, early to work. Moreover, the rates of
mosquito bites in the outdoors were observed to be increasing after the years
of usage of LLINs. Thus, the outcomes of the study challenge the
"dogma" that malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Africa bite
exclusively at night.
However, it is also to be noted that, since the results are from just two villages in one country, this
cannot be extrapolated to a wider geographical area and/or a different
entomological context.
For
further information:
Moiroux N, Gomez MB,
Pennetier C, Elanga E, Djènontin A, Chandre F, et al. Changes in Anopheles funestus Biting Behavior Following
Universal Coverage of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets in Benin. J. Infect. Dis.
[Internet]. 2012 Sep 21; Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22966127
Reference:
World Health Organization. World malaria report 2011. Geneva,
Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2011.
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