ARS | Publication request: REPELLENTS AND THE MILITARY: OUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE.

Submitted to: Journal of the Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: October 1, 2004
Publication Date: January 1, 2005
Citation: Debboun, M., Klun, J.A., Strickman, D.A. 2005. Repellents and the military: our first line of defense.. Journal of the Mosquito Control Association. 21:4-6.

Interpretive Summary: The U.S. military has been a major customer for the development of repellents since World War II. During the war, the U. S. Department of Agriculture was tasked with finding both topical ( applied to the skin) and clothing repellents for forces in the field. The urgency of this task was based on the lack of effective drugs for prevention of malaria and the total absence of drugs for treatment of louse-borne typhus. The article chronicles the research and development in this important area of the protection of humans against arthropod disease vectors.

Technical Abstract: The U.S. military has been a major customer for the development of repellents since World War II. During the war, the U. S. Department of Agriculture was tasked with finding both topical ( applied to the skin) and clothing repellents for forces in the field. The urgency of this task was based on the lack of effective drugs for prevention of malaria and the total absence of drugs for treatment of louse-borne typhus. The article chronicles the research and development in this important area of the protection of humans against arthropod disease vectors.