Guidelines for efficacy testing of mosquito repellents for human skin

Overview

 The purpose of these guidelines is to provide specific and standardized procedures and criteria for efficacy testing and evaluation of mosquito repellents for human skin. Their aim is to harmonize the testing procedures carried out in different laboratories and institutions in order to generate comparable data for registering and labelling such products by the national regulatory authorities. However, the requirements for registration of pesticides, including repellents, are determined by the national regulatory authorities.

These guidelines are an expanded and updated version of those recommended by the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) Informal Consultation on the evaluation and testing of insecticides, held at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on 7–11 October 1996. These were reviewed and recommended by the WHO Consultation on testing and evaluation of public health pesticides, held at WHO headquarters on 23–27 February 2009.

The guidelines provide guidance and procedures on laboratory studies, field trials and evaluation of technical material used in mosquito repellent products and on the methods used to determine their application rate(s) and effectiveness. Guidance is also provided on the single-dose evaluation of formulated repellent products. With some modification, the guidelines can be used to determine the repellency of candidate compounds for other flying insects that blood-feed on humans.