Research article 1083 EMHJ – Vol. 24 No. 11 – 2018 Repellency effect of flumethrin pour-on formulation against vectors of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever Eslam Moradi Asl 1,2 , Hassan Vatandoost 2,3 , Zakie Telmadarreiy 2 , Mehdi Mohebali 4 , Mohammad Reza Abai 2,3 1 Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Islamic Republic of Iran. 2 Department of Medi- cal Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran (Correspondence to: H. Vatandoost: hvatandoost1@yahoo.com, vatando@tums.ac.ir). 3 Department of Chemical Pollutants and Pesticides, Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. 4 Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health and National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Introduction Ticks are important in human and veterinary medicine. Hard ticks include > 650 species. Diseases that are trans- mitted by ticks have a major economic impact on the livestock industry worldwide. Ticks are able to transmit several important diseases to humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, Crimean–Congo haem- orrhagic fever (CCHF), summer Russian encephalitis, and relapsing fever (1–4). Control of ticks is important for prevention of disease transmission. Chemical methods are the most commonly used for control of ectoparasites. Chemical insecticides, biological control, environmental management and repellent agents are the most impor- tant methods for tick control. However, the stability of some insecticides in nature and their adverse effects on humans and the environment are major concerns (5, 6). For farmers and consumers, the important factors for insecticides are ease of application, low cost and long- term protection. Repellent compounds are derived from plant oils, smoke and tars, and they can be used for kill- ing and repelling insects. Before World War II, there were 4 major repellents that had been in use for repellency of insects and animals for several years: Citronella oil was used for head lice; dimethyl phthalate was discovered in 1929; indole was invented in 1937; and Rutgers 612 was evaluated in 1939 (7). A total of 901 products are available: 872 synthetic oils and 29 plant oils. The United States De- partment of Agriculture tested some repellents against 4 types of cockroaches in Germany during 1953–1973 (8). Flumethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. It is used externally in veterinary medicine against parasitic insects and ticks on cattle, sheep, goats, horses and dogs, as well as for control of parasitic mites in honeybee colonies. Flumethrin is applied in a line from the base of the skull along both sides of the spine to the tail in cattle. The median lethal dose for rats by ingestion is 500–1000 mg/kg. Flumethrin is toxic to fsh and aquatic animals (9). It acts on the nervous system of the target arthropods (10–12). Methods Study area This study was conducted in 2014–2015 in Meshkinshahr County, which is located in the centre of Ardabil Province, in the northwest of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Figure 1). This region has a cool climate (maximum 35°C) during the hot summer months. The winter is cold (minimum −25°C). A total of 25 000 people are involved with rearing livestock. Abstract Background: Ticks are able to transmit important diseases to humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever, summer Russian encephalitis, and relapsing fever. Aim: To determine the repellency effect of 1% fumethrin pour-on formulation against hard ticks. Methods: The concentration of fumethrin pour-on formulation was 1 mg/10 kg body weight and was administered on the dorsal midline from the head to the base of the tail. The livestock included cows, goats, oxen and sheep in 2 villages in Ardabil Province, Islamic Republic of Iran. Results: We studied 200 livestock comprising 5 age groups (< 2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8 and >8 years). The main hard ticks identifed were Hyalomma species (62.5%) and Rhipicephalus bursa (37.5%). In the treatment village, the maximum number of ticks per animal was 11.6 in oxen, 9.5 in sheep, 8.9 in goats and 8.6 in cattle. The repellency effect of fumethrin remained for 2 months. Conclusion: Flumethrin provided 2 months protection against hard ticks. Therefore, it could be used in the livestock industry. Control of ticks is important for prevention of disease transmission. Keywords: fumethrin, Islamic Republic of Iran, livestock, repellency, ticks Citation: Moradi Asl E; Vatandoost H; Telmadarreiy Z; Mohebali M; Reza Abai M. Repellency effect of fumethrin pour-on formulation against vectors of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever. East Mediterr Health J. 2018;24(11):1082–1087. https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.18.004 Received; 19/10/16; accepted: 02/08/17 Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). 06-Repellency effect of flumethrin pour-on formulation against vectors of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever .indd 1083 1/9/2019 1:08:07 PM