Insect repellents 'safe' to use: scientists

The benefits of using mosquito repellents containing DEET to protect against malaria and dengue may outweigh the risks, a new research has claimed.
DEET, a man-made chemical used in insect repellents, protects against diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, passed on by mosquitoes and other insects.
Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine recommend applying repellents containing 20-50 per cent DEET to the skin in countries with diseases spread by insects, such as malaria and dengue fever.
Although medicine and vaccines can prevent some diseases, they don't prevent them all: in those cases, stopping the bite in the first place is the best line of defence, researchers said.

People have expressed concerns about the safety of DEET which led to a number of investigations.
However, the scientists have carried out a review of published studies and conclude that there is insufficient evidence to show that DEET is unsafe.

They also conclude that the benefits of avoiding disease-spreading insect bites outweigh any theoretical risks associated with applying DEET to the skin.
In their analysis of animal research and other safety assessments carried out previously, the researchers conclude that there is no evidence of association between severe adverse events and recommended DEET use.
They also looked at case reports of people suffering encephalopathy (brain condition) following exposure to DEET in the 1980s.

"The incidence of 14 reported cases of DEET-associated encephalopathy since 1957 is small when considered against the context of an estimated 200 million applications of DEET worldwide each year," researchers said.
The review was published in the journal Parasites and Vectors.