The effectiveness of putative wearable repellent technologies to protect against mosquito biting and Aedes-borne diseases, and their economic impact.

ABSTRACT: Viruses transmitted by mosquitoes threaten the health of millions of people worldwide. There is an urgent need for new tools for personal protection to ensure that vulnerable individuals are protected from infectious bites when outdoors. Here, we test the efficacy of wash-in and spray-on repellents against Aedes aegypti. When applied as a treatment on clothing as well as skin, the novel repellent compound delta-undecalactone provided up to 100% protection initially, and over 50% bite prevention for more than 7 hours. Mathematical modelling indicated that if such a repellent, with 100% initial efficacy, were to be applied twice daily by 80% of the population, more than 30% of Zika virus infections could be averted in an outbreak scenario with a basic reproduction number R0 = 2.2. In a less

SUBMITTER: Jones RT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11694967 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature