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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #282574
Title: Development of New Repellents and Improved Permethrin-Treated Uniforms for the United States Military

Author
item Bernier, Ulrich
item Tsikolia, Maia
item Agramonte, Natasha
item PERRY, MELYNDA - Natick Soldier Center
item JOHNSON, AMY - Natick Soldier Center

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/4/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: History contains numerous examples of the impact of arthropod-borne illnesses on the outcome of military conflicts. Therefore, protection of our US military is paramount when they are deployed on missions throughout the world. Two components of the Department of Defense system for personal protection involve the use of topical skin repellents and proper wearing of a uniform that contains a repellent finish. The standard issue topical repellent is DEET; however, recent efforts have been made to allow additional repellents to be used by military personnel. At the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), research is conducted to discover the next generation skin repellent from quantitative structure activity models developed initially using compounds examined by ARS in the past six decades. In 1977, ARS developed permethrin-treated uniforms as a means to further protect individuals from arthropod bites. Since 1991, US Military combat uniforms have been treated with this compound. In 2007, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) was the first major US service branch to transition to factory treatment of their combat uniforms. The US Army completed this transition in 2010. At present, the Natick Soldier Center conducts the chemistry testing and USDA-ARS conducts the biological efficacy testing in support of this effort. An overview of the findings from these lines of repellent research will be presented in this talk.