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Efficacy of three insect repellents against the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis
Author(s) -
Govere J.,
Durrheim D. N.,
Baker L.,
Hunt R.,
Coetzee M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2915.2000.00261.x
Subject(s) - deet , biology , toxicology , lotion , biting , malaria , insect repellent , traditional medicine , veterinary medicine , medicine , ecology , pharmacology , immunology
Summary Three commercial repellents marketed in South Africa: Bio‐Skincare TM (BSC, oils of coconut, jojoba, rapeseed and vitamin E), Mosiguard TM towelletes with 0.574 g quwenling (p‐menthane‐3,8‐diol, PMD) and the standard deet (15% diethyl‐3‐methylbenzamide, Tabard TM lotion), were compared against a laboratory colony of the mosquito Anopheles arabiensis Patton (Diptera: Culicidae), the predominant malaria vector in South Africa. Human forearms were treated with 1.2 g BSC, 0.8 g PMD towelette or 0.5 g deet and exposed to 200 hungry An. arabiensis females for 1 min, at intervals of 1–6 h post‐treatment. Tests were conducted by three adult male volunteers (aged 30–45 years, crossover controlled test design for 3 consecutive days), using their left arm for treatment and right arm for untreated control. Biting rates averaged 39–52 bites/min on untreated arms. All three repellents provided complete protection against An. arabiensis for up to 3–4 h post‐application; deet and PMD gave 90–100% protection up to 5–6 h, but BSC declined to only 52% protection 6 h post‐treatment. These results are interpreted to show that all three repellent products give satisfactory levels of personal protection against An. arabiensis for 4–5 h, justifying further evaluation in the field.