Environmental impacts on effectiveness of permethrin-treated clothing used by foresters to prevent mosquito bites

Environmental Impacts on Effectiveness of Permethrin-Treated Clothing Used by Foresters to Prevent Mosquito Bites

PI:Stephanie L. Richards, MSEH, PhD; Environmental Health Sciences Program, East Carolina University

Relevance:Reviewers of the NIOSH AFF program noted that “agricultural and forestry workers are the veritable ‘canary in the mineshaft’ when zoonotic disease outbreaks occur, given their proximity to animal and avian hosts.” NIOSH has been urged to “encourage targeted surveillance” and identify “worksite practice(s) that could reduce or eliminate known sources of zoonotic disease, while also encouraging analysis into zoonotic workforce risk.”  This study tested the effectiveness of pesticide-treated clothing to prevent mosquito bites.