Insecticide-impregnated bed nets: a new tool for malaria prevention and control- an old strategy with new perspectives

Malaria is one of the major vector-borne diseases in many parts of the World. With the development of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to drugs mosquito vector species to insecticides, the problem has become more critical. At present the emphasis is on the implementation of sustainable control by community participation through primary health care systems. One of the simple technologies which can be implemented with community assistance is the use of pyrethroid impregnated bed nets for protection against mosquito bites. Trials carried out in many countries have shown, that if properly used, such treated-nets are cheap, socially acceptable and effective for prevention against malaria. This paper presents a brief introduction to impregnated bed nets with particular reference to malaria control

Incidence of aflatoxin contamination in non-perishable food commodities

To assess the incidence of aflatoxins contamination in different commodities, a representative countrywide study was conducted. One hundred composed samples of cereals, grains, spices, condiments and refined and raw sugars were analysed for aflatoxin Bl, B2, G1 and G2. The moisture contents of all the food samples were also invariably determined. Only 6% of the samples namely maize and red chillies were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin B1 and B2 respectively. The percentage of samples contaminated among maize was 41.6 and the level of aflatoxin 131 ranged between 11. 12 ug/Kg to 82. 33 ug/Kg. In red chillies contamination was 25% and the level of aflatoxin B2 was 41. 67 ug/Kg