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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Verity Sulway

Dr Hilary explains how insect repellent can kill COVID-19 as military swear by it

Good Morning Britain's Dr Hilary Jones explained on Thursday's show that insect repellent can have a very useful side effect - killing off COVID-19.

Speaking to hosts Ranvir Singh and Sean Fletcher, Hilary revealed an ingredient in the spray called Citriodiol which is used in products including MosiGuard, is the key to killing the virus.

While it should not be used in place of face coverings, social distancing, and hand washing, said Hilary, it can give an extra layer of protection.

The military have reportedly been using the spray on their skin and clothes, and droplets of Citriodiol kill off the COVID-19 virus.

Hilary said the bug spray can kill off the virus and last several hours (ITV)

Hilary warned that more research was needed to prove the product actually worked, but noted MosiGuard was already "flying off the shelves" as the news spread.

And if the spray does work, it will only last for a few hours at a time and there is a risk it will irritate some people's skin.

"The military have been using this in addition to other PPE, visors and masks for example," said Hilary.

Citriodiol is used in the insect repellent Mosi Guard (Sky News)

"The researchers at the military facility in Porton Down, where they do all the important microbiology research work, have found that you can use this, put the droplet with viruses and it will kill something like 100,000 viruses within one minute, and only ten remain."

He added: "It's not something you can take externally, it's something that you can spray on, it's a protective.

"It would work for a few hours as a barrier it would kill off some virus.

"It's certainly not something you'd say, 'I've got that on, I don't need to use anything else'."

Hilary added that Avon's Skin So Soft spray was also being used similarly by the military.

* Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am

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