RFI: Adverse effects of impregnated bed nets (2)
------------------------------------------------
Vera Ngowi asked Torben Vestergaard about side effects of pyrethroids
on nets. I hope they won't mind me sticking my nose in.
I became interested in the chemical safety aspects of pyrethroids
about 6 years ago, when we began to explore "dip-it-yourself" ap-
proach to home-treatment of nets in Tanzania. At that time, we al-
ready had loads of experience with treated net projects, and we knew
that there were no major problems. For example, we knew that allergic
responses did happen, but very very rarely, and without serious con-
sequences.
However, there was very little in the way of official published guid-
ance, which could be cited by a project manager. There were a few
sentences from WHO Technical Reports, simply saying that WHO recom-
mended the use of pyrethroids on nets, and there were the IPCS (In-
ternational Panel on Chemical Safety) booklets, which are very tech-
nical and do not focus on the specific issues associated with use on
nets.
We therefore commissioned a review from two toxicologists who had
previously served on the panel that regulates pesticide registration
in the UK. It is now published as:
Barlow SM, Sullivan FM, and Lines J. (2001) Risk assessment of the
use of deltamethrin on bednets for the prevention of malaria. Food
Chem Toxicol 39: 407-22
There is also a shorter paper by the manager of WHOPES, the WHO pes-
ticide evaluation scheme:
Zaim M, Aitio A, Nakashima N. (2000) Safety of pyrethroid-treated
mosquito nets. Med Vet Entomol. 14: 1-5.
I think Vera will find the assurance she is looking for in these two
papers.
Jo Lines
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Keppel St. London WC1E 7HT, UK
mailto:Jo.Lines@lshtm.ac.uk
--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `<afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org>'.
Mail administrative requests to `<majordomo@usa.healthnet.org>'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `<owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org>'.