2016-02-26 09:42:43
Deltamethrin is a biocidal active substance approved at European level for the control of insects, mites and other arthropods. Nets impregnated with deltamethrin are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent the transmission of vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.
In France, mosquito nets impregnated with long-lasting deltamethrin have not been the subject of a marketing authorization request and therefore cannot be used.
As part of the fight against the Zika epidemic currently raging in the French departments of America (DFA), the High Council for Public Health (HCSP) issued an opinion on January 18 in which it recommends that the The competent French authority authorizes the use of mosquito nets impregnated with deltamethrin by way of derogation. ANSES was therefore asked by the Ministry for Ecology to issue an urgent opinion on the advisability of using deltamethrin-treated mosquito nets for derogatory use, as provided for in Article 55.2. of the Biocides Regulation.
The Agency’s work
ANSES relied on WHO assessments of the technical characteristics and effectiveness of mosquito nets impregnated with long-lasting deltamethrin. The use of mosquito nets satisfying all of the WHO criteria should be favoured. These are mosquito nets fulfilling the criteria of efficacy, resistance to washing and which have shown efficacy after three years of use in the field.
Furthermore, ANSES considers that despite the resistance phenomena of mosquitoes to deltamethrin, widely recognized in the literature and demonstrated in the French overseas departments, mosquito nets impregnated with long-lasting insecticide have an interesting efficacy against resistant adult mosquitoes.
The Agency’s recommendations
On the basis of the data currently available, in the opinion it is publishing today, the Agency considers that the risk associated with the use of mosquito nets is acceptable for human health, provided that, for newborns and young children, the mosquito net is fixed around the bed in such a way that it is difficult for the child to reach, in order to avoid putting it in the mouth.
Furthermore, given the very high toxicity of deltamethrin for the aquatic compartment, the Agency recommends strongly limiting the washing of mosquito nets.
Since no data is available on the risk to human health and the environment, or on the effectiveness of re-impregnating mosquito nets with deltamethrin, ANSES does not recommend this practice.
Finally, the Agency considers it necessary for the services responsible for the distribution of mosquito nets to communicate on the precautions to be taken when using them and for them to be able to ensure that the management measures are properly applied.
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