Efficacy of the insect repellent IR3535 on the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi in human volunteers
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) is an important sand fly species in the Old World, where it transmits Leishmania major, the etiologic agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis (Killick-Kendrick 1999, Maroli et al. 2013, Ready 2013).This species is the main vector in the Middle East, north Africa, and central Asia (Ashford 1996, Fichet-Calvet 2003, Janini et al. 1995, Ready 2013).In general, sand flies have cryptic breeding sites (Feliciangeli 2004), making effective control of the insect difficult, so personal protective measures are often key in preventing transmission of leishmaniasis in areas where it poses a risk (Alexander andMaroli 2003, Maroli andKhoury 2006).Although the gold standard, diethyl-m-tolumide (DEET), is effective at repelling sand flies (Cilek et al. 2004), other options are desirable to provide a choice for consumers and in case of allergies or preference for an alternative.Ethyl butylacetylaminoproprionate, or as it is commonly known, IR3535, has proven efficacy against mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and lice (Puccetti 2007, Bohlman 2008, Carroll et al. 2010) and is considered a biopesticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Comparison studies with IR3535 and DEET have found IR3535 to be long-lasting; in many cases lasting as long as DEET (Cilek et al. 2004).Although there has been limited research on the efficacy of IR3535 in sand flies to date, in a study on two volunteers, the mean protection time for 10% IR3535 was 5.9 and 10.4 h for P. duboscqi and P. mascittii, respectively (Naucke et al. 2006).These results suggest that the repellency of IR3535 varies by species; the two species tested by Naucke et al. (2006) differed in protection time by 4.5 h.To the authors' knowledge, the repellency of IR3535 against P. papatasi has never been reported.The aim of this study was to determine if the insect repellent active ingredient IR3535 would be effective against P. papatasi sand flies.A commercially available product containing 20% IR3535 was topically applied to six participants and tested for longevity and efficacy over a sixhour test period.The test insects in this study were sand flies of the Old World species Phlebotomus papatasi that were obtained from an insecticide-susceptible reference strain held at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.The strain originated from Abkuk, Turkey, and was obtained from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.All sand flies were
Source: Journal of Vector Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/jvec.12362
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2984490273