Mosquito Repellant Seizure

On May 2 an inspector went into Community Natural Foods in Calgary and took all of the Bite Blocker off the shelves. The reason was because the non-DEET mosquito repellant did not have a government PMRA number on the label. Bite Blocker used to have a PMRA number on the label. However, because citric acid has been added to the Bite Blocker product, the new formula has to be tested in the field before it can receive a new number.

Andrea Sawatzky, Regional Pesticides Officer at the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, indicated that although the new PMRA testing is due to be completed in a matter of days or weeks, the bureaucratic process in Ottawa will ensure that no PCP number should be expected to be forthcoming this season. That means that the thousands of Canadians who have expressed an interest in acquiring the only effective non-DEET preparation currently on the market to protect themselves against West Nile are out of luck.

John, the buyer from Community Natural Foods said, "All the media hype about it [Bite Blocker has probably prompted complaints from the Hard Core Insect Repellent and Deet manufacturers."

Bite Blocker is a non DEET insect repellent that has been supported by the New England Journal of Medicine, the University of Guelph, and John's Hopkins because it works. A research paper from the Duke University Medical Center1 claimed that DEET caused "neuronal dendritic loss" in rats. That means "damage to the nerve fibres going into brain cells".

Another study2 claimed that "animals subjected to stress and chemicals exhibited both disruption of the BBB and neuronal cell death in the cingulate cortex, the dentate gyrus, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus." Translation: "DEET and brain damage are related". The abstract of the study did make one comment in plain English: "Combined exposure to stress and low doses of PB, DEET, and permethrin leads to significant brain injury."

"DEET has been associated with seizures and several cases of toxic encephalopathy (encephalitis) in children, including three deaths", according to the Extension Toxicology Network at Cornell University. The Extension Toxicology Network website is a combined effort of several American universities. It states that "several cases of toxic encephalopathy associated with the use of DEET in children have been reported in the medical literature." Encephalopathy is a brain disease. The article went on to say that "the toxic encephalopathy was characterized by agitation, weakness, disorientation, ataxia, seizures, coma and in three cases resulted in death."

1. A research paper from the Duke University Medical Center claimed that "the current studies are focused on the pathological consequences of sub-chronic exposure to a single chemical or combined concurrent exposure. This includes the effect of one environmental modifier, stress, on the neurotoxicity associated with concurrent exposure to PB, DEET and permethrin .... Animals were exposed to DEET and permethrin daily for 60 days. Immunohistochemical assessment with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and anti-microtubule-associated protein (MAP-2) revealed extensive glial reactivity and neuronal dendritic loss."

2. "Disruption of the Blood-Brain Barrier and Neuronal Cell Death in Cingulate Cortex, Dentate Gyrus, Thalamus, and Hypothalamus in a Rat Model of Gulf-War Syndrome". In this study, adult male rats were exposed to PB, DEET, and permethrin.

Contact: John Kellas, Banff Alberta, (403)762-2333, sales@mparam.com
Canadian web page on Bite Blocker: http://www.healthyself.com/brochures/Documents/BiteBlocker.cfm
American web page on Bite Blocker: http://www.homs.com/
Press release submitted by: Peter Enns, (403)678-6776, Peter@HealThySelf.com





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