New textiles that repel mosquitoes
Insect repellents are an important aspect of efforts to prevent mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever. However, current repellents are toxic, short-lived and increasingly ineffective due to insect resistance. A European consortium has developed novel mosquito bio-repellents to be incorporated into clothing and mosquito nets for health care workers and the public. With the EU-funded 'Novel release system and bio-based utilities for insect repellent textiles and garments' (NO BUG) project, scientists hoped to bypass the aforementioned problems. They investigated a range of novel bio-repellents and selected the most promising to incorporate into various slow-release systems. Their focus was mainly on multi-layer textiles, but they also investigated microcapsules for improved repellent delivery. New materials incorporating these release systems were produced and evaluated. These were used to create prototype mosquito nets and protective clothing for health workers. NO BUG results could play an important role in reducing the number of deadly malaria and dengue fever cases in health workers and the general population. Furthermore, bio-repellents offer an eco-friendly alternative to currently used hazardous chemicals.
Keywords
Textiles, mosquitoes, insect repellent, mosquito-borne diseases, malaria, dengue fever, bio-repellents, clothing, mosquito nets, health care, health care workers, release system, bio-based, garments, multi-layer textiles, protective clothing
