SCIENTIFIC REASONS ON TO WHY NET INSECTICIDE NGAO NO LONGER EFFECTIVE AGAINST MOSQUITOES Friday, May 18, 2012 10:53pm

It is my response from an article on Net insecticide no longer effective Tanzanian news paper- The Citizen of Saturday 12 May 2012. As is it known by most people that Ngao is the insecticide used to treat mosquito net against mosquitoes particularly those causing Malaria, a tropical disease. Ngao since it was introduced about a decade ago, it referred to acts as a selective pressure against the population of mosquitoes. This is according to Charles Darwin theory of evolution of species (i.e. population of mosquitoes) by Natural selection, that there was variation (difference among members of the same species/population of mosquitoes) in mosquitoes during the time when the insecticide was administers for the first time in the population of mosquitoes. Some variations among mosquitoes made few individuals (mosquitoes)/ resistant to survive in presence of Ngao and those mosquitoes failed to survive (non-resistant) die. Those mosquitoes, which survive, have alleles (different variant of genes) to resist the effect Ngao thus they reproduce offsprings with alleles for resistance against Ngao. Over time, resistance alleles increase in a population of mosquitoes. This implies that mosquitoes are not stagnant in terms of adapting to changing environment, they have to change so that to adapt better in that environment and multiply to perpetuate their species. I would like to advice those distributors and manufactures of Ngao to make intensive research on the issue about variations that exists among mosquitoes and find appropriate method to deal with mosquitoes. Also, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare should deliver appropriate information to people and not misleading people. Currently, these stakeholders should clear the issue to by giving enough explanation why they are still promoting an ineffective insecticide. They should use the fund for intensive researches about appropriate way combating mosquitoes causing Malaria and not for promoting the use Ngao which is now ineffective.

Immediate methods can be employed to tackle the spread of mosquitoes in our environment through educating the Tanzanians on environmental conservation. It now a time that people to use natural methods to remedy spreading of mosquitoes without destructing our environment and causing effects to biodiversity that are; Maintaining cleanliness in our surrounding e.g. pruning grasses surrounding houses Destroying mosquitoes habitat i.e. water logs Using mosquito nets with no insecticides i.e. prolonged use of insecticides lead to resistant of those mosquitoes against those insecticides Written by Henry Ernest Kazula, Educationalist-Bsc (Biology/Chemistry)-Mwenge University College of Education Kilimanjaro-Tanzania. Copyright 2012

Reference: Colleen B.&Virginia B.( ).Biology Science for Life pg 63.University of MinnesotaDuluth The Citizen of Saturday 12 May 2012