Bioassays to evaluate non-contact spatial repellency, contact irritancy, and acute toxicity of permethrin-treated clothing against nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Ticks Tick Borne Dis
• Personal Author:
  Eisen, Lars ; Rose, Dominic ; Prose, Robert ; Breuner, Nicole E. ; Dolan, Marc C. ; Thompson, Karen ; Connally, Neeta
• Description:
  Summer-weight clothing articles impregnated with permethrin are available as a personal protective measure against human-biting ticks in the United States. However, very few studies have addressed the impact of contact with summer-weight permethrin-treated textiles on tick vigor and behavior. Our aim was to generate new knowledge of how permethrin-treated textiles impact nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks, the primary vectors in the eastern United States of the causative agents of Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, and human babesiosis. We developed a series of bioassays designed to: (i) clarify whether permethrin-treated textiles impact ticks through non-contact spatial repellency or contact irritancy; (ii) evaluate the ability of ticks to remain in contact with vertically oriented permethrin-treated textiles, mimicking contact with treated clothing on arms or legs; and (iii) determine the impact of timed exposure to permethrin-treated textiles on the ability of ticks to move and orient toward a human finger stimulus, thus demonstrating normal behavior. Our results indicate that permethrin-treated textiles provide minimal non-contact spatial repellency but strong contact irritancy against ticks, manifesting as a "hot-foot" effect and resulting in ticks actively dislodging from contact with vertically oriented treated textile. Preliminary data suggest that the contact irritancy hot-foot response may be weaker for field-collected nymphs as compared with laboratory-reared nymphs placed upon permethrin-treated textile. We also demonstrate that contact with permethrin-treated textiles negatively impacts the vigor and behavior of nymphal ticks for >24h, with outcomes ranging from complete lack of movement to impaired movement and unwillingness of ticks displaying normal movement to ascend onto a human finger. The protective effect of summer-weight permethrin-treated clothing against tick bites merits further study.
• Subjects:
  Acaricides Animals Article Bioassay Biological Assay Clothing Contact Irritancy Humans Ixodes Ixodes Scapularis Nymph Permethrin Permethrin-treated Clothing Tick Infestations Toxicity

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• Source:
  Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 8(6):837-849
• Pubmed ID:
  28754599
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5665650
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U50 CK000195/CK/NCEZID CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  6
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:0ac502108b9b0fa2433aec12d39e2c1515430ff12b2ff2cccbe3958cbf902c2a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/49553/cdc_49553_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 660.08 KB ]