Skeeters Skirting Malaria Prevention:
Mosquito nets infected with insecticide seem to have changed the behavior of malaria-carrying mosquitoes
in two African villages, reports Reuters on NBC.com.
Three years ago, when the bed nets were first put into
use around the villages in Benin, mosquitoes’ prime biting hours were 2 to 3 a.m. But in the third year,
their key biting time moved to around 5 a.m. Many villagers get up before dawn to work in the fields.
And, the
percentage of bites villagers got outdoors increased to 61 percent in year three from 45 percent in year
one, all indicating that the insects changed their behavior to pursue their prey.
Over 650,000, most in
Africa, are killed by malaria annually. The study was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
via NBC.com/Reuters
