Overview of Personal Protection Measures Through the Innovative

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its persistence is not assured conveniently. The innovative approach, through Mosquito

Nano-Tech-Repellents, is however a promising path. Scientific research has shown that

through the textiles, it is possible to achieve this goal.

3.2

INNOVATIVE VECTOR CONTROL

Prior to the discovery of modern mosquito repellent devices, people often used natural

ingredients and traditional methods to repel mosquitos. Usually, they utilise scents that

repel insects, such as dried orange peels, lemons, and lemongrass stems (Arief, Saratian,

Permana, Soelton, and Rohman 2019). However, this method is considered unreliable due

to the quick biodegradation of the composites.

Targeting the disease agent is one of the main strategies for the control of vector-borne

diseases. These tactics include preventative measures, widespread medicine distribution

campaigns, vaccinations, antibiotic medications, and antiviral therapies that specifically

target the parasite or inhibit the replication of the arbovirus in the host (Tolle 2009). While

extremely successful in the control of certain agents of disease etiology, such as filarial

parasites and some strains of Plasmodium, the resistance of parasites to various drugs and

the lack of antivirals and vaccines for many disease agents limit the success of this control

technique for many vector-borne disease agents (Mok et al. 2015). The second method of

control involves the prevention of transmission of the disease agent by the vector. This is

accomplished by a variety of means including the abatement of vector populations and the

use of biting deterrents or repellents such as insecticide-treated bed nets.

As more of the limited insecticidal classes approved for use against vectors fail in

controlling vector populations and with the ever increasing vectorial capacity, the need

for novel control strategies becomes ever more necessary. Within the control strategies

of bloodsucking arthropods, personal protection is of growing importance and it is an in-

equitable solution in some socio-economic and environmental contexts considering the

target species to ward off. Personal protection applied by persons against arthropods, is

basically an important, simple strategy and economically it is considered cost effective.

Consequently, it is essential to gauge how well repellant-infused nanotechnological

materials work. The most effective way to combat Leishmaniosis, which is spread by

sand flies,; Chagas disease, spread by triatomine bugs,; and tick-borne diseases, which are

spread by numerous ticks, is to implement personal protection methods by using repellents.

In order for an arthropod control strategy to be a valid option, it’s implementation

should guaranty its sustainability over time, as suggested in Figure 3.1; “Good for mosquito

control (A)”. Figure 3.2 illustrates “We should work on where the mosquitos are coming

from but not where the mosquitos are going to”, an emphasis on the implementation of

source reduction operations, larviciding through the routine application of microbial or

chemical insecticides, and operation of breeding sites as opposed to adulticiding interven-

tion through the application of pesticides (chemical) to kill adult mosquitos, which may

have a possible immediate effect but often with an impact on the environment over a long

period of time.