Tick-borne Illness and Clothing Study

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Tick-borne Illness; Tick Bites
• Interventions: Other: Permethrin Impregnated Uniforms

• Registration Number: NCT01454414
• Lead Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2010-10
• Study First Submitted: 2011-10-10
• Study First Submitted QC: 2011-10-15
• Study First Posted: 2011-10-19
• Primary Completion: 2012-10
• Study Completion: 2013-04
• Results First Submitted: 2014-04-25
• Status Verified: 2014-05
• Results First Submitted QC: 2014-05-29
• Results First Posted: 2014-06-30
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-03-09
• Last Update Posted: 2021-03-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 159

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

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Exclusion Criteria

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

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Permethrin Impregnated Uniforms	Permethrin Impregnated Uniforms	Uniforms (including pants, shorts, shirts, socks, and hats) treated with long-lasting permethrin.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Work Related Tick Bites	Weekly for two years	Tick bites are defined as ticks attached to or embedded in the skin

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Seroconversion Against a Tick-borne Illness	Upon enrollment, after the first year, and after the second year	We will define seroconversion as one in which there is a 4-fold change in Immunoglobulin G class antibody titer between sera at enrollment, sera obtained after one year and/or sera obtained at study's end or between acute and convalescent sera for participants developing an acute illness. The antigens that will be used in the serologic assays include Ehrlichia chaffeensis (which would also detect antibodies to E. ewingii and Anaplasma phagocytophilum) and Rickettsia rickettsii (which would also detect antibodies to other spotted fever group rickettsiae).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Gillings School of Global Public Health; 🇺🇸 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States