Disinfectants are the frontline defense against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on surfaces. But new research suggests there may be another tool that people can use: an insect repellent Citriodiol.
Scientists from the UK’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory have found in a preliminary study that Citriodiol may help kill SARS-CoV-2. The study specifically analyzed the effects of Mosi-guard Natural insect repellent, which has the active ingredient Citriodiol, against SARS-CoV-2 in a lab setting in two different experiments. In one experiment, the spray was applied directly to the virus; in another it was sprayed on a latex synthetic skin.
The studies showed that Mosi-guard Natural had some level of antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. However, it was more effective at higher concentrations when applied directly to the virus. “There was evidence that the Mosi-guard Natural treatment on synthetic skin of latex affects the survival of the virus over a period of four hours,” the study reads. But researchers did not compare the effectiveness of the spray with that of disinfectants like soap and water, and, it is worth noting, what of the virus remained on the ‘skin’ after Citriodiol was applied.
However, the findings raise some major questions about Citriodiol. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Citriodiol?
Citriodiol is the trade name for Eucalyptus citriodora oil hydrated, fast, according to the website of Mosi-guard. In the US it is known as lemon eucalyptus oil, an ingredient registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as a skin-applied insect repellent.
Lemon eucalyptus oil is an active ingredient in several insect repellents in the US, including Repel, Coleman Botanicals and Mosi-guard, per the EPA.
“Citriodiol is made from distilled oil from a specific type of eucalyptus tree, lemon eucalyptus,” says Jamie Alan, an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, Yahoo Life. ‘It is found in natural insect repellents. The active component is a combination called PMD, which is concentrated in the refining process. ”
Is Citriodiol Safe?
According to the EPA, lemon eucalyptus oil is safe to use locally as an insect repellent.
“This is normally found in sprays and is sold as a natural and sustainably treated insect repellent,” says Alan. “After all, it also breaks down and does not accumulate in the environment.”
While Citriodiol is EPA-registered, “it generally feels less effective than DEET or picaridine, especially for mosquitoes,” says John Sellick Jr., a professor of medicine in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Buffalo, Yahoo Life,
How to use Citriodiol
When Citriodiol is used as an insect repellent, it is simply applied to the skin, says Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Yahoo Life. However, its use to combat COVID-19 is unclear at this point. “I do not see a major role in COVID-19 protection here, because we already have alcohol-based hand disinfectants, disinfectants and ordinary soap and water that achieve the same goal,” says Adalja.
“There is no apparent use for this chemical in the fight against COVID-19 at this time,” he said. Iahn Gonsenhauser, Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Yahoo Life. “Because COVID-19 is primarily distributed through exhaled droplets that are expelled into the air and carry only a limited risk of exposure to surface contact, this use for disinfecting surfaces offers little protection and is no more useful than bleach solutions like other EPA-approved surface disinfectants. “
“It’s the miracle cure of today,” says Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Yahoo Life. But while the new study found that Citriodiol had anti-viral effects against SARS-CoV-2, Schaffner is hesitant to say at this point that it will work outside a laboratory environment. “There’s a big difference between a test tube and using it on people in the real world,” he says. “It needs to be tested on people for this use.”
Based on the study’s findings, “it looks like you could use Citriodiol as Lysol spray,” says Alan. “The big difference is that you can spray this on yourself and on your clothes.”
However, Alan stops short of recommending that people actually use their Citriodiol-containing insect repellent in this way. “The data seems a bit shaky,” she says. She is also concerned about spraying insect repellent containing Citriodiol on countertops. “I worry about fumes in the air, especially with small children and pets, and remaining residues,” she says.
“Their results tell me that lemon eucalyptus oil is not as strong as an alcohol-based disinfectant surface,” said Jason Kaelber, assistant professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Yahoo Life. “Personally, I will stick with alcohol for disinfecting my skin when I am not at a laundry and I will use alcohol or other household cleaners for disinfecting surfaces.”
And, of course, you should not try to consume this. “Certainly not in your nose or throat,” says Schaffner. “It can cause nausea and vomiting when taken up,” Alan says.
Overall, experts are not too excited about Citriodiol to combat COVID-19. “Wearing a mask and doing good hand hygiene are the keys, wearing no insect repellent,” says Sellick.
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow up https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised are most at risk. If you have any questions, please refer to the GGD‘s and WHO’s resource guides.
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