Mosquito-proof netting reduces infant mortality

Malaria kills more than one million people each year, most of them children under five years old. Mosquito nets help, but don’t prevent insects from transmitting malaria through biting a sleeping person through the net. BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, a chemical company long interested in malaria and tropical diseases, has developed Interceptor® mosquito net coated with the insecticide Fendona® to combat malaria.

“Ninety percent of malaria cases occur in Africa, and a test of Interceptor nets in Kenya reduced infant mortality in high-risk areas by 44 percent while also killing enough mosquitos to lower infection rates for neighbors. The Interceptor nets meet the World Health Organization’s criteria for a long-lasting insecticide impregnated net (LLIN), do not pose a health risk to humans, and remain effective over several years. BASF projects the demand for insecticide mosquito nets will reach 50-60 million per year in the next few years.

For more information about Interceptor nets, visit the BASF Web site at www.basf.de/science_around_us.