NORTH CAROLINA – Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have produced mosquito bite-resistant fabric samples that will soon be leveraged in apparel.
Published in the journal Insects, the academics developed a computational model based on what properties fabrics would need in order to stifle attempted bites by the Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries viruses that cause human diseases like Zika, Dengue fever and yellow fever.
“The fabric is proven to work – that’s the great thing we discovered,” said study co-author Andre West, associate professor of fashion and textile design at NC State and director of Zeis Textiles Extension for Economic Development. “To me, that’s revolutionary. We found we can prevent the mosquito from pushing through the fabric, while others were thick enough to prevent it from reaching the skin.”