Households in New Juaben claim mosquito nets are ineffective

Many households in the New Juaben Municipality have stopped using the insecticides treated mosquito nets because they claim it had lost its effectiveness.

According to a survey conducted by the GNA, residents around Effiduase and Srodai complained that even though they slept in the mosquito nets they had malaria frequently and wondered why it was so.

Some complained that despite the treated nets against insecticides they had mosquitoes biting them and sometimes see mosquitoes moving freely in the insecticide treated nets at night, a situation they claimed had occurred since last year.

Most of the residents in the households that GNA spoke to had used the insecticide treated nets for years ranging between six and two years.

They confidently told GNA that the nets were not effective as they used to be when they started using them some years ago.

A mother of three, Mrs Ama Kwakye, claimed that she had been using the treated nets for six years now when she had her first child saying initially the nets were so effective that any mosquito that mistakenly entered was either killed or weakened when it got in contact with the net.

She said in addition when the Nets were left hanged on the bed, every evening before she went to bed she found several mosquitoes who had died because of their contact with the net.

Mrs Kwakye said since last year she had noted that her children woke up with mosquito bites even though they had slept in the nets and on many occasions seen mosquitoes and other flies that were killed by the net moving freely even though she changed the nets every six months.

Dr George Bonsu, the Deputy Eastern Regional Director of Health Services (Public Health), told the GNA that the mater had not come to their notice but the issue would be investigated to ensure that malaria was controlled.