Mosquito Nets: Study by Vimsar team finds gaps in use of mosquito nets | Bhubaneswar News
Sambalpur: A study on ‘long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) coverage and utilisation’ in Burla, Sambalpur, conducted by a team of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Vimsar), found that while coverage of LLIN is high, there is a need to improve the utilisation of mosquito nets.
The study published in the medical journal Cureus, covered 516 households, comprising 2,541 individuals and 1,165 LLINs.While the household-level coverage was found to be 94.2%, the regular utilisation was 45.74%. However, usage of LLINs emerged as a significant area of interest where only about 236 of the respondents were found using the nets regularly. The researchers suggested the reasons for non-usage, such as skin reactions and discomfort, and called for improved LLIN design.
The study was conducted using multi-stage cluster sampling in 10 out of 53 anganwadi centres, covering 51 households per centre. One of the researchers, Sanjeeb K Mishra, said, “WHO recommends widespread implementation of insecticidal nets to prevent vector-borne diseases. The use of LLINs is highly accepted and has contributed to the drastic decline of malaria cases in the country.” “Odisha has made significant progress in controlling malaria with a 90% reduction in the number of cases over the last five years due to targeted interventions. The rate of reduction of vector-borne disease between 2018 and 2019 was 40% against the national average of 17% during the same period,” he added.
The study published in the medical journal Cureus, covered 516 households, comprising 2,541 individuals and 1,165 LLINs.While the household-level coverage was found to be 94.2%, the regular utilisation was 45.74%. However, usage of LLINs emerged as a significant area of interest where only about 236 of the respondents were found using the nets regularly. The researchers suggested the reasons for non-usage, such as skin reactions and discomfort, and called for improved LLIN design.
The study was conducted using multi-stage cluster sampling in 10 out of 53 anganwadi centres, covering 51 households per centre. One of the researchers, Sanjeeb K Mishra, said, “WHO recommends widespread implementation of insecticidal nets to prevent vector-borne diseases. The use of LLINs is highly accepted and has contributed to the drastic decline of malaria cases in the country.” “Odisha has made significant progress in controlling malaria with a 90% reduction in the number of cases over the last five years due to targeted interventions. The rate of reduction of vector-borne disease between 2018 and 2019 was 40% against the national average of 17% during the same period,” he added.
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