Malaria kills over 600,000 people yearly, mainly children under five in Africa. Now, a new study from Uganda shows a simple way to protect babies. Researchers treated cloth baby wraps, called lesus, with the insect repellent permethrin. Babies carried in these treated wraps were two-thirds less likely to get malaria. The trial included 400 mothers and their six-month-old babies in Kasese, a rural area in western Uganda. Half the babies used permethrin-treated wraps, while the other half had regular wraps dipped in water as a fake treatment. The wraps were re-treated monthly. After six months, babies in treated wraps had 0.73 malaria cases per 100 babies each week, compared to 2.14 in the untreated group. One mother said, "I’ve had five children. This is the first one that I’ve carried in a treated wrap, and it’s the first time I’ve had a child who has not had malaria." Professor Edgar Mugema Mulogo from Mbarara University said the findings were "tremendously exciting". Co-lead investigator Dr Ross Boyce from the University of North Carolina admitted he was surprised and said, "I wasn’t sure it was going to work, to be honest with you. But that’s why we do studies." The malaria-carrying mosquitoes often bite outdoors in early morning or evening, times when bed nets do not protect well. Mulogo explained that wraps are commonly used as shawls, bed sheets, and aprons, making them ideal for added protection. Communities involved in the study are already asking for treated wraps. Health officials in Uganda and the World Health Organization are interested too. This method could protect babies as their natural antibodies fade before vaccination. Earlier research also showed success treating shawls in Afghan refugee camps. WHO already supports the use of permethrin-treated clothing to prevent malaria. The treated wraps caused slight skin rashes in 8.5% of babies versus 6% in the control group, but no one left the study because of this. Further safety research will continue, but the benefits are seen as greater than the risks. Dr Boyce is interested in testing treated school uniforms next but said "there is no money for the next research stages yet." He added, "My mother can understand what we did. It’s not some specific inhibitor of a fusion protein or something like that. We took some cloth and we soaked it. And it’s dirt cheap." If successful, local production of treated wraps could provide both health benefits and business opportunities in Uganda.