QUESTION

how can the community can control malaria through personal protection?

ANSWER

That’s a very good question. One of the most effective known ways for reducing infection with malaria is through the use of long-lastong insecticide treated bednets. Sleeping underneath one at night drastically reduces the chance of being bitten by the Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

Other personal protection measures include indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides, which reduces the number of mosquitoes inside houses and also prevents infection. These protection methods protect individuals and families from malaria, but they also can assist in interrupting transmission—that is, if enough families use bednets and do IRS, the whole community may benefit from reduced numbers of mosquitoes that are carrying malaria.

Estimates of the level of bednet or IRS coverage required for community benefits to occur vary based on the region and the local strength of transmission (Killeen et al. reported coverage ranging from 35%-65% as adequate for detecting community-level benefits. This was published in the journal PLoS Medicine in 2007). However, most organisations are advocating attempting 80% coverage of bednet use—therefore, large efforts are being made to increase current bednet coverage and IRS efforts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where the highest number of cases and the highest mortality rates are observed.