A Review of the Literature on Insecticide Treated Bed Net Use, Anaemia and Malaria Parasitaemia in Under Five Children

Nalley Joy Chinwe

doi:10.11648/j.ajp.20180401.12

Abstract

Insecticide Treated bed Net (ITN) is considered to be the most efficacious of all currently feasible interventions for malaria control in Africa. However, lack of data on its use in under five children has made it difficult to keep tract of its efficacy in this population. This study was aimed at pooling published data from parts of Africa and Asia with the hope of providing an overview of the use of ITNs and its efficacy in children under five years of age. Literature search was carried out Pubmed, Pubmedcentral, MEDLINE, and Cochrane library for all published articles between 1991 and 2015 using search strings such as under five children, ITN, malaria parasitaemia, anaemia, protective efficacy, ownership and use, pattern of deployment and types of ITN. Based on specific criteria, 30 studies were included. Few countries have met the ITN coverage target of 80% including Nigeria, with coverage rates ranging from about 69% to 75%. ITN use in under five children has been shown to reduce the prevalence of malaria and anaemia in areas unstable malaria transmission to a variable degree. ITN possession does not always translate to usage and consistent use is required for effective malaria control.

Highlights

Insecticide treated bed nets are a major intervention for malaria control
Insecticide Treated bed Net was mainly used during the high transmission period to control mosquito nuisance
38% of the respondents wanted to use Insecticide Treated bed Net (ITN) for prevention of malaria and cost was one of the primary reasons for not having an ITN. This was shown to be true in a study carried out in Bangladesh by Syed et al, [23] where, despite having a poor knowledge of the importance of ITN in malaria prevention, ITN possession and use increased with 70% of the members of the households sleeping under an ITN after bed nets were distributed free of charge

Summary

Introduction

Insecticide treated bed nets are a major intervention for malaria control. They are a form of personal protection that has been shown to reduce the incidence of malaria, severe disease and death due to malaria in endemic regions. Insecticide Treated bed Nets (ITNs) have emerged as an efficacious and cost effective malaria control strategy and are a key technical element to the Roll Back Malaria strategy [3]. It reduces mortality and morbidity in children less than five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa [3]. Duc, showed that as net treatment programme in Vietnam built up during the 1990s, so that more than 10 million people were provided for, the national malaria incidence declined remarkably and malaria deaths dropped almost to zero during the period [5]

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