Insecticide Treated Materials (including Long Lasting Mosquito Nets)

Mosquito nets have been used in one form or another for hundreds of years; however it was not until the last twenty years or so where the benefit of treating a net with an insecticide has been recognised as having a significant impact on malaria. Treatment of a mosquito net with an appropriate insecticide improves the protective effect provided by the net (mosquitoes are able to bite through untreated nets if skin is adjacent to the netting material or find holes in untreated worn nets) and long-lasting insecticide treatment (that can resist multiple washings of a net over an extended period) can result in a highly effective tool for malaria control when used routinely. Long-lasting Insecticide Treated Bed Nets (LLINs) are now a widely recognised tool in the fight against malaria and several different types of LlINs exist.

Synthetic pyrethroids are the only group of insecticides currently recommended for treatment of bed nets and deltamethrin and permethrin are the two most common active ingredients which are used due to their favourable safety profile and biological performance. Deltamethrin is particularly suitable for use in the impregnation of bed nets since it is effective at very low doses. The process to treat a bed net with an insecticide can either be done at a factory level (ie. during manufacturing process prior to sale) or in the field (prior to use or after a previous insecticide treatment has lost its effectiveness).

LLINs also vary in the type of material which they are manufactured from. Currently LLINs are manufactured only from polyester or polyethylene, utilising the pyrethroids deltamethrin or permethrin through factory-based incorporation or coating processes. These two types of plastics differ in their attributes, which can influence either the durability of the net during use, or the comfort which is experienced by the user.
The ideal goal for a long-lasting treated bed net is therefore to be manufactured from a fabric type which is not only highly durable but also soft and comfortable during use. This not only presents an opportunity for greater cost effectiveness (from longer life) but also presents an opportunity for greater impact on disease (since the recipient is more likely to continue to use it if it is comfortable to use).

Bayer Environmental Science offers not only retreatment options (K-O TAB and K-O TAB 1-2-3) for untreated nets (or nets which have lost their insecticidal efficacy) but is also introducing LifeNet (a new category of LLINs based on polypropylene) in 2012.

LifeNet will be the first net to be manufactured from multifilament polypropylene with deltamethrin incorporated into the fibres, the extended wash resistance and superior durability of LifeNet supports our claims of an effective life exceeding five years. Further information can be obtained on the LifeNet product page.