Personal protection afforded by controlled-release topical repellents and permethrin-treated clothing against natural populations of Aedes taeniorhynchus.

Field tests evaluated repellent formulations containing deet in combination with permethrin-impregnated or untreated military uniforms against Aedes taeniorhynchus. No significant difference was determined between repellents in duration of protection whether or not permethrin-treated clothing was worn, but there were differences in efficacy relative to site of application. The head was the site of shorter duration of protection regardless of repellent tested. On repellent-treated skin, 12-30% of the bites were on arms, whereas 70-88% were on the head. When military repellent was used, the head was bitten 35% more often than with experimental repellents. On untreated clothing 80% of bites were through pants and 20% through shirts. Mean bites through untreated clothing were 0.7 bites/min/person (42/hr), whereas mean bites through permethrin-impregnated clothing were 0.0004/min/person (0.02/hr). Protection by permethrin-treated clothing relative to untreated clothing was 99.9%.