Mosquito netting is mainly used for the protection against the malaria transmitting vector, Anopheles gambiae. The first record of malaria-like symptoms occurred as early as 2700 BCE from China. The vector for this disease was not identified until 1880 when Sir Ronald Ross identified mosquitoes as a vector for malaria.
Use of mosquito nets has been dated to prehistoric times. It is said that Cleopatra, the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, also slept under a mosquito net. Mosquito nets were used during the malaria-plagued construction of the Suez Canal.