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Home » Mosquito Nets » Why Should I Use an ITN?
Why Should I Use an ITN?
Why should we use treated mosquito nets?
Children sleeping regularly under treated mosquito nets suffer less from malaria than those not using treated nets, and they are far less likely to die from the disease and its complications.
Do some people benefit more than others?
The people who benefit most from using a treated net are those who are most at risk of getting severe malaria or even dying from the disease.
The health benefits are greatest among young children, pregnant women and other people (such as visitors) who have little immunity to the disease.
How do treated mosquito nets work?
Not all mosquitoes spread malaria. Malaria is spread by a particular variety of mosquito known as the Anopheles mosquito which prefers to feed at night, while people are sleeping.
A mosquito looking for blood will be attracted towards a person but will then come into contact with the insecticide on the treated net.
Mosquitoes are killed or repelled by their contact with the insecticide. The repellent
effect of the insecticide means that other people sleeping in the same room -
Can I use an ordinary mosquito net, without insecticide?
In reality, most nets are not perfect:
- nets may be torn;
- nets may be too small to be tucked in so that mosquitoes can enter under the net to feed;
- people may roll and sleep against the side of the net.
Experiments have found that nets without insecticide can prevent malaria but are much less effective than treated nets.
If children do not contract malaria frequently, will they still develop a natural immunity to the disease?
Even if a person sleeps under a treated net, they still receive some bites from infected mosquitoes. This challenges the body to develop its own protective immunity.
However immunity may take longer to build up than in people not using treated nets.
Are insecticides dangerous?
When the insecticides are handled, stored, diluted, and used correctly, they are not harmful to humans.
Some nets may smell for a few days after treatment, but when the insecticides are used at the correct dilution, there should be no other effects.
The insecticides are also harmless to chickens, goats, and dogs. However they can
harm fish, so waste fluid from net dipping should be poured down a pit latrine -
Mosquito net features
Fabric
Polyester netting (a man-
Denier
Denier is the strength of the fibre used to make the mosquito net.
Mesh size
Mesh size is measured in either millimetres (1.5 to 2mm is normal for mosquito nets) or in holes per square inch (e.g. 196 or 14 x 14). Some nets have larger holes which allow better ventilation but will only offer protection as long as they are treated.
Shape
The two most common shapes are round (or conical) and square. There is less person
to net contact under a square net but many people prefer the easy-
Colour
Mosquito nets can be any colour, however white is most frequently found in those
made from netting. Now that people are using insecticide and washing their nets less
frequently, darker-
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