Tick-borne Illness and Clothing Study (TICS)

University of North Carolina (UNC)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Tick-borne Illness; Tick Bites

Treatments: Other: Permethrin Impregnated Uniforms

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01454414

10-1027

Details and patient eligibility

About

The high risk of acquiring tick-borne diseases by outdoor workers is well documented. Workers most at risk include, foresters, park rangers, land surveyors and other outdoor workers have frequent exposure to tick-infested habitats. Many North Carolina state employees with outdoor occupations report multiple tick bites each year, which indicates that existing tick preventive strategies may be ineffective. The principal goal of this study is to assess whether the use of long-lasting permethrin impregnated uniforms can reduce the number of tick bites sustained by North Carolina outdoor workers.

Enrollment: 159 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Being over 18 years of age
• Employee of NC Division of Forest Resources, the NC Division of Parks and Recreation, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, or NC County and Local Parks and Recreation who work in Central and Eastern North Carolina
• An average of 10 or more hours of outdoor work per week during tick season
• Self-reported prior work-related tick bites

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnancy
• Non-English speaking
• Known allergy to insecticides

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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159 participants in 2 patient groups

Permethrin Impregnated Uniforms

Experimental group

Description:

Uniforms (including pants, shorts, shirts, socks, and hats) treated with long-lasting permethrin.

Treatment:

Other: Permethrin Impregnated Uniforms

Placebo

No Intervention group

Description:

Uniforms sent to Insect Shield, washed and refolded (no permethrin applied).