Insecticide-treated bed nets (itns) are a form of personal protection that has been shown to reduce malaria illness, severe disease, and death due to malaria in endemic regions. In community-wide trials in several african settings, itns have been shown to reduce the death of children under 5 years from all causes by about 20%. How do itns work. Bed nets form a protective barrier around people sleeping under them. However, bed nets treated with an insecticide are much more protective than untreated nets. The insecticides that are used for treating bed nets kill mosquitoes, as well as other insects. The insecticides also repel mosquitoes, reducing the number that enter the house and attempt to feed on people inside. In addition, if high community coverage is achieved, the numbers of mosquitoes, as well as their length of life will be reduced. When this happens, all members of the community are protected, regardless of whether or not they are using a bed net. To achieve such effects, more than half of the people in a community must use an itn.
