ZeroFly® Plastic Sheeting - FAQ
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What is Zerofly®? |
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ZeroFly® is an insecticide incorporated plastic sheeting for malaria prevention in complex emergencies.
Plastic sheeting is among the first aid articles to be distributed to refugees in emergency situations. To equip these plastic sheetings with disease control abilities, is therefore potentially a highly efficient health improvement tool. The ZeroFly® shelter contains insecticide and has, in laboratory as well as field trials, been proven effective against disease vectors such as malaria mosquitoes. |
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What pyrethroid is used in ZeroFly®? |
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The insecticide used in ZeroFly® is Deltamethrin. Deltamethrin has undergone WHOPES evaluation. |
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What documentation is there to prove that ZeroFly® is effective? |
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ZeroFly® is right now undergoing WHOPES phase 3 in Sierra Leone. The test is made under supervision by Mentor Europe in cooperation with Johns Hopkins University. Results of phase 2 were published on June 22, 2002. |
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How does the UV-filter and the controlled release system work? |
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The ZeroFly® shelter has several different built in UV filters. Some of these filters protect the plastic material and the others protect the insecticide. The UV filters that protect the insecticide even have the ability to follow the insecticide, while it is immigrating to the surface. The insecticide on the surface will slowly degrade from the external exposure, mainly sunlight. The built in UV filters will slow down this process, but will not be able to stop it. In order to compensate for the loss of insecticide on the surface, the ZeroFly® shelter has a depot of insecticide in the central layer. The insecticide from the central depot will migrate towards the surface.
However, the speed of this migration under normal circumstances is very fast, especially if the shelter is heated by the sun. The result being that all the insecticide would find its way to the surface and be destroyed in a very short time, rendering the shelter ineffective. The ZeroFly® Shelter contains a system of migration inhibitors, which act partly by attaching themselves to the insecticide molecule and partly by forming barriers restraining the migration of the insecticide.
The migration inhibitor system reduces the speed of migration of the insecticide. The combination of the depot of insecticide and migration inhibitors help to provide a controlled release system that will potentially prolong the efficacy period of the ZeroFly® shelter for up to 2 years. |
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Mission and Values