{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T04:08:43Z","timestamp":1790741323518,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,21]],"date-time":"2023-12-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1703116800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"OPAS (Pan American Health Organization)","award":["SCON2021-00161"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SCON2021-00161"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Amblyomma sculptum is a species of public health interest because it is associated with the transmission of the bacteria that causes Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF). The use of repellents on humans is a prophylactic measure widely used to provide protection against a series of arthropod vectors, including mosquitoes and ticks. However, in Brazil, the effectiveness of commercial repellents against A. sculptum is little known. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out specific studies to evaluate the repellency of these commercial products, registered for use against mosquitoes, against the star tick. The main goal of the present work was to evaluate the effectiveness of six commercial repellents against A. sculptum. Unfed nymphs, aged between two and eight weeks, were tested against products based on DEET (OFF!\u00ae and Repelex\u00ae), Icaridin (Exposis\u00ae and SBP\u00ae), and IR3535 (Johnsons and Henlau). Three bioassays were conducted to evaluate tick behavior: (i) filter paper, (ii) fingertip, and (iii) field. All bases tested showed high repellent activity, differing significantly (p &lt; 0.05) from the control. It was observed the formulation with DEET resulted in the best results in the filter paper bioassay. In the fingertip bioassay, the DEET base repelled a greater number of ticks compared to Icaridin. In the field bioassay, there was no significant difference between the Icaridin base and DEET, and both formulations differed from the control (p &lt; 0.05). The six formulations tested showed significant percentages of repellency against ticks; however, for the fingertip and field bioassays, the products OFF!\u00ae, Repelex\u00ae, and Exposis\u00ae were tested as they showed better performance in the filter paper test. OFF!\u00ae showed the best percentage of repellency (100%), followed by Repelex\u00ae (96.8%), and Exposis\u00ae (93.1%), considering the two-hour period of the bioassay-field-test. Proving the effectiveness of repellents on the market against A. sculptum presented in this study is crucial, since this is the main ectoparasite of humans that can transmit Rickettsia rickettsii when infected. The effectiveness of commercial insect repellents against other tick species that parasitize humans can also be explored.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13010009","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,21]],"date-time":"2023-12-21T05:36:12Z","timestamp":1703136972000},"page":"9","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Do Commercial Insect Repellents Provide Protection against the Tick Amblyomma sculptum (Acari: Ixodidae)?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Beatriz Rodrigues","family":"de Barcelos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences and Technologies, University of Brasilia, Metropolitan Center, Conjunto A, Lot 01, Federal District, Brasilia 72220-275, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nath\u00e1lia Gabriela Silva Santos","family":"Coelho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, Catholic University of Brasilia, QS 07, Lot 01, Taguatinga, Federal District, Brasilia 71966-700, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mayara Macedo Barrozo","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Federal University of Goi\u00e1s, Nova Veneza, km 8, Samambaia Campus, Goiania 74001-970, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francisca Let\u00edcia","family":"Vale","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Federal University of Goi\u00e1s, Nova Veneza, km 8, Samambaia Campus, Goiania 74001-970, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ana L\u00facia Coutinho","family":"Teixeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Federal University of Goi\u00e1s, Nova Veneza, km 8, Samambaia Campus, Goiania 74001-970, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lainny Martins","family":"Pereira e Souza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Federal University of Goi\u00e1s, Nova Veneza, km 8, Samambaia Campus, Goiania 74001-970, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viviane","family":"Zering\u00f3ta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goias, Goiania 74605-220, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5253-5451","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Caio M\u00e1rcio","family":"de Oliveira Monteiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Federal University of Goi\u00e1s, Nova Veneza, km 8, Samambaia Campus, Goiania 74001-970, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chesterton Ulysses Orlando","family":"Eugenio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Federal de Educa\u00e7\u00e3o, Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia de Goi\u00e1s, S\u00e3o Bartolomeu Street, Luziania 72811-580, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6872-0096","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcos Takashi","family":"Obara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences and Technologies, University of Brasilia, Metropolitan Center, Conjunto A, Lot 01, Federal District, Brasilia 72220-275, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1049","article-title":"Ixodid and Argasid Ticks","volume":"2","author":"Otranto","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. 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