Efficacy of topical permethrin as repellent against Aedes aegypti's bites.
Mosquitoes are the most important vectors of infectious diseases and their bites are related to several adverse skin reactions. Permethrin impregnated clothes are an efficient strategy against arthropods' bites; however, its topical efficacy as a repellent has not been well established. We studied the response to permethrin lotion 5 percent and N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) spray 50 percent applied to the unprotected forearms of 10 volunteers. Each arm was exposed to 20 female mosquitoes of Aedes aegypti. We performed 71 bilateral comparative measurements evaluating the timing for the first bites. The average times for the arm without the product, with permethrin 5 percent, and with DEET 50 percent were: 7.9 seconds, 336.2 seconds and 7512.1 seconds. The results showed a significant difference between repellency times between either product and unprotected controls. In addition, there was a significant difference in time to first bite between permethrin and DEET treated arms (p<0.01). Permethrin affords some repellent activity against Aedes aegypti bites in this experimental setting. However, permethrin's profile of repellency was significantly inferior to that of DEET.
Miot
Hélio Amante
HA
Department of Dermatology, São Paulo State University-Unesp, Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. heliomiot@fmb.com.br
Ferreira
Daniela Pinho
DP
Mendes
Fabiana Guandalini
FG
Carrenho
Flávia Roberta Hernandes
FR
de Oliveira Amui
Isabela
I
Carneiro
Carlos Augusto Sá
CA
Madeira
Newton Goulart
NG
D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003671:DEET / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009032:Mosquito Control; D026023:Permethrin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
D007302:Insect Repellents; D003671:DEET; D026023:Permethrin