Current developments in (Malaria) mosquito protective methods: A review paper

摘要

The mosquito vector spread a variety of diseases. It is responsible for several million deaths andhundreds of millions of cases every year and has an adverse effect on public health. There are differenttypes of mosquitoes which bite at different times of the day and spread different viruses. The paperhighlights the causes of malaria and their prevention methods in detail. Malaria is a major health problemfor children and pregnant women. It has been highlighted as a major cause of death for children belowage of five years. More than two-thirds of all malaria deaths occurs in children below age of five years.In India, malaria has been a problem for centuries. India has the highest number of morbidity andmortality rates of malaria after Africa. A number of protective and preventive methods/techniques areadopted against this vector. A common method of preventing mosquito bite(s) is the use of repellents ofsynthetic and natural origin. The merits and demerits of synthetic and the natural mosquito repellentshave been critically assessed. Malaria is preventable and not supposed to be a deadly disease if treatmentis available, which is not the case for many of the underdeveloped areas. These regions bear adisproportionate burden of the disease, mainly due to non-adoption of prevention measures.Microencapsulation is one of the techniques to extend the longevity of the repellents used for preventionof mosquito bites. The review briefly assess the various aspects of microencapsulation technique in themosquito-repellent fabric domain. There is a need for increased research and development of (natural andsynthetic) mosquito-repellents.