Users of the Long Lasting Treated Bed Nets have been warned to stay away from it between 24 and 48 hours before they sleep under it for the first time.

According to Dr. Aba Baffoe-Wilmot, Medical Entomologists at the National Malaria Control Programme, because the nets were fresh from the pack, the possibility that it has an over concentration of insecticides cannot be ruled out.

More air must blow through them to help minimize the potency of the insecticide before people could sleep under them.

Dr Baffoe-Wilmot said this at the Upper West Regional launch of the Long Lasting Treated Bed nets at Daffiama in the Nadowli East District on Wednesday.

She said over the years, the Ministry of Health had always distributed mosquito nets to children and pregnant women to help prevent the incidence of malaria but that had not improved the situation.

There were some challenges and excuses from beneficiaries that they did not know how to hang those nets while others refused to sleep in them.

The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Services in partnership with donor countries had therefore decided this time round to go from house to house to hang the bed nets for the beneficiaries in the communities.

Dr. Baffoe-Wilmot said men for the first time had been included to benefit from the nets since the incidence of malaria had become a bigger challenge in Ghana and needed to be addressed urgently.

She announced that the Upper West Regional Directorate of Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the Ashanti Gold would combat the incidence of malaria in the Wa Municipality, Wa East and Wa West Districts, next month.

Ashanti Gold would carry out a five year sustained indoor residual spraying programme to help reduce the population of mosquitoes that infect people with malaria parasites.

Jirapa, Nandom and Lawra Districts would also benefit from the programme in July, this year.**