New York’s top lawyer called on seven companies to stop marketing products that claim they can prevent or protect against the Zika virus, but are in fact useless.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the cease and desist letters target companies that are preying on consumers’ fears about the virus, which is now spreading via mosquito bites in a Miami neighborhood.
“Unfortunately, some companies are taking advantage of public concern about Zika to peddle products that simply don’t work,” Schneiderman said Wednesday.
The Zika virus primarily spreads via mosquito bites. Until late last week, mosquitoes weren’t spreading the virus in the continental U.S.
However, 15 cases of mosquito-borne Zika infections have been found in the trendy Miami neighborhood of Wynwood.
Each of the seven companies targeted by Schneiderman advertised that either ultrasonic devices or botanical “oil-based products” could prevent or protect against Zika by repelling mosquitoes.
However, the products contain no insect repellents that contain at least one of the five active ingredients recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The makers of ultrasonic devices claim that they repel mosquitoes by emitting a high frequency buzz,” the attorney general office said. “Numerous scientific studies have found that ultrasonic devices do not repel mosquitoes, and may even attract mosquitoes.”
Other products included wristbands, bracelets, patches and stickers that claim the products contain ingredients that can repel mosquitoes.
The botanical ingredients that include oil of geranium, cedar, lemongrass, soy and citronella don’t meet federal guidelines for insect repellents, the attorney general statement said.
More than 1,600 cases of Zika have been found in the U.S., but almost all are from people who got it traveling to another country or territory.
