A study by scientists at the University of Florida shows that an experimental repellent successfully deterred mosquitos for as long as 73 days.
This is more than four times longer than marketed products and may help health officials around the world stem the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, which sicken more than 550 million people each year, according to the World Health Organization.
According to the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists tested 34 repellents on two volunteers in a laboratory who wore the chemicals on cloth patches stuck to a glove, which they inserted into a box containing about 500 insects for one minute. One chemical warded off the bugs for 73 days, compared with 17 1/2 days for the chemical DEET, which has been used as a repellent for 50 years.
While DEET repellents offer broad-based protection from a variety of insects, mosquitoes continue to spread diseases such as malaria and some mosquitoes can bite through an application of DEET, the study said.
The researchers plan to continue testing on seven of the most promising compounds to find the next generation DEET.
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