ROCK HILL, S.C. — A South Carolina chemical company is ready to fight the Zika virus with its life-saving technology.
Pulcra Chemicals of Rock Hill developed a repellent to protect against mosquitoes carrying the virus.
Skintex MRIII can be applied to clothing, blankets, and camping gear, making them resistant to mosquitoes. Just one small barrel of the product can treat 2.5 tons of blankets.
“We expected this and started working on it in the last year as we’ve seen the Zika virus spread further and further north,” said Brian Francois, the company’s CEO.
So far, all Zika cases in the Carolinas are travel related, but residents still worry.
Pulcra recently treated clothing and blankets for the U.S. Olympic team in Brazil.
The company is also waiting to hear back from Florida’s Mosquito Control Board to find out if it will be sending supplies to Miami.
According to Pulcra, the main defense in many countries is a mosquito net. This product would help these countries effectively fight the Zika virus as well as malaria. Pulcra recently donated more than a thousand treated blankets to Tanzania to prevent malaria from spreading.
“This is a better, better option for a lot of protecting children, protecting pregnant women and mothers,” Francois said.