With the interruption of larva treatments done by OCP as part of
onchocerciasis control in West Africa, Simulium came back in abundance in forest regions and savannah fertile valleys. In addition to the severe discomfort, nuisance by Simulium is in certain cases incompatible with land use. Since ground treatment of larval breading sites using
insecticides is not always possible or efficient, it is therefore a necessity to develop other methods among which individual protection against Simulium
bites. The general objective of our study was to evaluate different
vegetable oil compound repellent formulas against Simulium
bites. Activities were carried out in savannah zone (Niakaramandougou) and in forest zone (Soubré) in Côte d'Ivoire. The methodology consisted in catching blackflies on volunteers whose legs were rubbed with a repellent. Gobi raw oil and coconut, palm nut and gobi formulas (lotions and creams) were tested. During each session, which lasted from 07:00 am to 12:00 and from 03:00 pm to 06:00 pm, one person did not apply any repellent and was used as the control person. The results of our experimentations show that for a given zone (savannah, forest), a repellent (coconut, palm nut, gobi) and a compound (shea butter,
vaseline), there is no significant difference between protection rates obtained with lotions (maximum: 21
bites/person/day) and those obtained with creams (maximum: 30
bites/person/day). In other respects, the lotion of a given repellent seems to be efficient in savannah as in the forest, in protecting against Simulium
bites. It is the same situation with creams. So, repellents can be an efficient
solution against Simulium nuisance. However, experimentations should continue to confirm the high repellency of tested formulas, proceed to the identification of principles and evaluate the toxicity and
irritant effect of repellents to be applied on the skin.