Table 1.

Personal Protection Practices as Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) Primary Prevention Approaches against Vector-borne Diseases (VBDs) (Part 1).

Parametres	Wear Protective Clothing When Outdoors	Avoid Heading Outdoors to Vector-Prone Areas and During Peak Biting Conditions
		Vector-Prone Areas	Peak Biting Conditions
Risk	Disease vectors have landing preferences for exposed skin over fabric. This is evident in studies on the Human Landing Catch (HLC) technique—HLC participants wear protective clothing to limit the area of exposed skin that attracts vectors [24]. There is often a greater risk of VBD transmission outdoors compared to indoors, as seen for malaria [25], chikungunya [26], and tick-borne disease transmission [27].	Specific locations such as secondary forests and rubber plantations are at a high risk of VBD transmission, such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis [28].	The time of the day and weather influence VBD exposure risk. Mosquitoes infected with Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria, are most active from dusk to dawn [29,30,31]. There are positive correlations between temperature and the number of dengue [32] and tick-borne encephalitis [33] transmission incidences, as well as between temperature, humidity, rainfall and the number of malaria transmission incidences [34].
Behavioural Change	Wear protective clothing, long-sleeve tops, and long trousers to minimise skin exposure and create a physical barrier against bites from vectors such as mosquitoes [31] and ticks [35]. Wear light-coloured clothing [21]. Wear loose-fitting and tightly-woven clothes to avoid vector bites through the clothing when it is pulled tight to the skin [36]. Tuck trousers into socks and boots to further reduce skin exposure. Seal clothing junctions with adhesive tape as an additional precaution under extreme infestation pressure [36].	Avoid vector-prone or VBD-endemic areas if possible [21,31,36,37].	Avoid or minimise outdoor activities during hot and humid seasons, unless necessary [37]. Avoid or minimise outdoor activities during specific periods of a day, such as from dusk to dawn in malaria-endemic areas if possible [21,31,36].
Co-benefit(s)	Protects skin from sun exposure and lowers risk of sunburn [38,39]. Protects skin from scratches and infections [39].	Reduces hazardous risks such as tiger [40] and bear [41] attacks in rubber plantations and secondary forests respectively.	Protects individuals from heat exhaustion and further progression to heat stroke under exposure to high temperatures [42,43]. Protects individuals from health risks such as increased cardiovascular disease mortality under exposure to high humidity [44]. Protects individuals from fall-related injuries, which are more prevalent during the rainy season [45].
Enabling Factor(s)	Availability and affordability of protective clothing [46]. Suitability of the weather—cool and dry weather is favourable where additional clothing is unlikely to cause discomfort.	Ability and flexibility to stay indoors for long periods without great discomfort; adequate household space is favourable. Ability to make informed decisions on specific local habitats and conditions to avoid; the risk variability of different environments and the non-exhaustive list of prone areas and peak biting conditions above should be noted.
Limiting Factor(s) and/or Alternative(s)	Lack of protective clothing [46]. Presence of fabric holes in clothing: The holes serve as entry points for disease vectors to come into contact with skin. Holes may develop under the attack by fabric pests such as clothes moth larvae [47]. Unfavourable circumstances: In scorching areas and for labour-intensive occupations, heavy protective clothing may cause discomfort or impair human body heat exchange with the environment and cause heat stress [46,48].	Unfavourable circumstances: Staying indoors for long periods in poor, crowded living environments such as slums [49] may cause great discomfort.
		Occupational limitations: Those such as farmers and rubber plantation workers do not have the flexibility to avoid prone areas.	Occupational limitations: Those with night shifts such as security guards and police officers do not have the flexibility to avoid heading outdoors at night.
			Unfavourable circumstances: For populations in areas which are typically sultry (hot and humid), such as the tropics [50], risk mitigation is more challenging.
Strength of Evidence	The effectiveness of wearing protective clothing as a physical barrier against vector bites is well-supported by evidence. While light-coloured clothing may enhance tick detection [37], it may also attract more ticks [51] and increase tick-borne disease risk. Findings on vector landing preferences on this matter are dated and inconsistent.	The positive correlation between larvae breeding and the extent of vegetation cover [52] is well-supported by evidence. The assertion that rubber latex collection cups in plantations are potential breeding sites for common vectors, especially during the rainy season [53], is well-researched.	The negative correlation between humidity and mosquito desiccation risk, as well as the positive correlations between temperature and larvae breeding, adult vector development and virus replication, are well-supported by evidence [54,55]. The relationship between temperature, humidity, rainfall, and vector transmission incidences is well-supported by evidence. Research on the relationship between time of the day and peak biting conditions is limited to malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Minimal evidence is available on other VBDs and disease vector types such as ticks and sand flies.