Protective Effectiveness of Long-Lasting Permethrin Impregnated Clothing Against Tick Bites in an Endemic Lyme Disease Setting: A Randomized Control Trial Among Outdoor Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bowman N ; Dyer M ; Lin F-C ; Mather T ; Meshnick S ; Mitchell C
• Description:
  Tick-borne diseases are a growing threat to public health in the United States, especially among outdoor workers who experience high occupational exposure to ticks. Long-lasting permethrin-impregnated clothing has demonstrated high initial protection against bites from blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae), in laboratory settings, and sustained protection against bites from the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae), in field tests. However, long-lasting permethrin impregnation of clothing has not been field tested among outdoor workers who are frequently exposed to blacklegged ticks. We conducted a 2-yr randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial among 82 outdoor workers in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. Participants in the treatment arm wore factory-impregnated permethrin clothing, and the control group wore sham-treated clothing. Outdoor working hours, tick encounters, and bites were recorded weekly to assess protective effectiveness of long-lasting permethrin-impregnated garments. Factory-impregnated clothing significantly reduced tick bites by 65% in the first study year and by 50% in the second year for a 2-yr protective effect of 58%. No significant difference in other tick bite prevention method utilization occurred between treatment and control groups, and no treatment-related adverse outcomes were reported. Factory permethrin impregnation of clothing is safe and effective for the prevention of tick bites among outdoor workers whose primary exposure is to blacklegged ticks in the northeastern United States. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Insecticides Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Tick-borne Disease Blacklegged Tick Disease Prevention Disease Vectors Intervention Effectiveness Outdoor Worker Health Outdoor Workers Permethrin Pesticides Prevention Protective Clothing Tickborne Diseases

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• ISSN:
  0022-2585
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Rhode Island
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  57
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061824
• Citation:
  J Med Entomol 2020 Sep; 57(5):1532-1538
• Contact Point Address:
  Cedar Mitchell, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
• Email:
  cedarmit@live.unc.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Permethrin (CAS RN 52645-53-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  University of Rhode Island, Kingston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Medical Entomology
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9e1d5f21b6e239ef130d3bd50f7534e3145e15d2c97fb0e07595d2b48036f4351600ab530de0c1be56644344eb852173abb6cf5245aca2d3dc75dfccaff33b29
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225197/cdc_225197_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 200.19 KB ]