The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an interim recommendation for Bayer CropScience’s new LifeNet mosquito nets for malaria prevention and control. Bayer says this is an important milestone on the road to the worldwide LifeNet product launch which is scheduled to take place before the end of 2011.

According to Bayer, LifeNet is the first innovation in this field for more than a decade. Deltamethrin, the active ingredient recommended by the WHO, has been directly integrated into a polypropylene fibre and is gradually released, continuously exerting its insecticidal action. Thanks to the soft but very tear-resistant polypropylene fibres, the mosquito nets are longer-lasting, user-friendly and thereby ensure sustainable long-term protection,” Bayer says.

"The interim recommendation from the Pesticide Evaluation Scheme of the WHO (WHOPES) now makes it possible for us to offer national and international malaria control programs a new tool in the battle against malaria," explains Dr. Gunnar Riemann, Head of the Environmental Science Division at Bayer CropScience.

 "We are convinced that LifeNet will help public health authorities and aid organizations around the world achieve sustained success in the battle against malaria."

In order to embed the insecticide deltamethrin into the polypropylene fibres, the specialists at Bayer CropScience had to develop a whole new technology. In collaboration with Bayer Technology Services, the researchers were able to successfully insert the insecticide directly into the polypropylene.

“The polypropylene granules and the insecticide are mixed and briefly heated so that the two solid components start to liquify and melt together,” explains Dr. Maren Heinemann, who is in charge of the project at Bayer for the technical aspects. Bayer says that after several additional processing steps, the fine plastic filaments can be woven into tear-resistant, close-meshed and soft bed nets.

“The weave contains uniformly distributed deltamethrin that gradually migrates from the active ingredient depots in the fibres to the surface of the synthetic thread. Just a few seconds of contact is enough to neutralize the Anopheles mosquitoes,” the company says.

Bayer CropScience looks back on more than 50 years of experience in the field of vector control and with the forthcoming market launch of LifeNet, the company says it will be in the position to offer a complete portfolio for integrated vector management.