Implications of insecticide resistance for malaria vector control with long-lasting insecticidal nets: trends in pyrethroid resistance during a WHO-coordinated multi-country prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Increasing pyrethroid resistance has been an undesirable correlate of the rapid increase in coverage of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) since 2000. Whilst monitoring of resistance levels has increased markedly over this period, longitudinal monitoring is still lacking, meaning the temporal and spatial dynamics of phenotypic resistance in the context of increasing ITN coverage are unclear. METHODS: As part of a large WHO-co-ordinated epidemiological study investigating the impact of resistance on malaria infection, longitudinal monitoring of phenotypic resistance to pyrethroids was undertaken in 290 clusters across Benin, Cameroon, India, Kenya and Sudan. Mortality in response to pyrethroids in the major anopheline vectors in each location was recorded during consecutive years using standard WHO test procedures. Trends in mosquito mortality were examined using generalised linear mixed-effect models. RESULTS: Insecticide resistance (using the WHO definition of mortality < 90%) was detected in clusters in all countries across the study period. The highest mosquito mortality (lowest resistance frequency) was consistently reported from India, in an area where ITNs had only recently been introduced. Substantial temporal and spatial variation was evident in mortality measures in all countries. Overall, a trend of decreasing mosquito mortality (increasing resistance frequency) was recorded (Odds Ratio per year: 0.79 per year (95% CI: 0.79-0.81, P < 0.001). There was also evidence that higher net usage was associated with lower mosquito mortality in some countries. DISCUSSION: Pyrethroid resistance increased over the study duration in four out of five countries. Insecticide-based vector control may be compromised as a result of ever higher resistance frequencies

Some Observations on Insecticide Resistance

A model for development of resistance to an insecticide in an insect population is presented. The rate of development of resistance increased with increases in the proportion of the breeding population exposed to the insecticide and with increases in the survival from exposure to the insecticide. Restricting application of insecticides to an only if needed basis and, within limits, dosages that assure minimal survival of the exposed insects are suggested as means of impeding resistance to insecticides. The huge gene pools represented by the large populations of pest species are assumed to maintain insecticide resistance as a continuing problem in crop protection

Detection of Insecticide Resistance in Aedes Aegypti to Organophosphate in Pulogadung, East Jakarta

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is a major public health problem in Indonesia. Jakarta is a capital city with the highest number of dengue patients. Among sporadic endemic areas in Jakarta, Pulogadung, a district of East Jakarta, is one of endemic areas of this disease. The primary strategy for the control of DHF is based on reducing population densities of the main mosquito vector Aedes aegypti. Organophosphate is an insecticide that has been used for more than 25 years in dengue vector control program. The long term used and sublethal dosage of this insecticide can induce resistance. This laboratory study used microplate test and ELISA reader to determine the increase of alfa- esterase activity in Aedes aegypti larvae for detecting the resistance to organophosphate. Resistance pattern of Ae aegypti to organophosphate insecticide in RW 01 Pulogadung was shown to be: 23% high resistant, 33% medium resistant and 44% sensitive. This result was highly related to local community behavior where we found that the use of insecticide spray by the people was very low (8.8% of the sample). We found that the people who used insecticide spray were only 8.8% of the sample. Therefore, organophosphate still can be used in this area to control the Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in the future. Based on resistance pattern of Ae aegypti to organophosphate insecticide in RW 01 Pulogadung, we can conclude that organophosphate still can be used in this area to control the Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in the future

Delayed mortality effects cut the malaria transmission potential of insecticide resistant mosquitoes

Malaria transmission has been substantially reduced across Africa through the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). However, the emergence of insecticide resistance within mosquito vectors risks jeopardizing the future efficacy of this control strategy. The severity of this threat is uncertain because the consequences of resistance for mosquito fitness are poorly understood: while resistant mosquitoes are no longer immediately killed upon contact with LLINs, their transmission potential may be curtailed because of longer-term fitness costs that persist beyond the first 24 h after exposure. Here, we used a Bayesian state-space model to quantify the immediate (within 24 h of exposure) and delayed (&gt;24 h after exposure) impact of insecticides on daily survival and malaria transmission potential of moderately and highly resistant laboratory populations of the major African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Contact with LLINs reduced the immediate survival of moderately and highly resistant An. gambiae strains by 60–100% and 3–61%, respectively, and delayed mortality impacts occurring beyond the first 24 h after exposure further reduced their overall life spans by nearly one-half. In total, insecticide exposure was predicted to reduce the lifetime malaria transmission potential of insecticide-resistant vectors by two-thirds, with delayed effects accounting for at least one-half of this reduction. The existence of substantial, previously unreported, delayed mortality effects within highly resistant malaria vectors following exposure to insecticides does not diminish the threat of growing resistance, but posits an explanation for the apparent paradox of continued LLIN effectiveness in the presence of high insecticide resistance

Combining unrelated insecticides for improved control and management of insecticide resistant African malaria vectors

It is now generally accepted that if nothing is done and insecticide resistance in malaria vectors especially to pyrethroids eventually led to widespread failure of current vector control strategies, the progress achieved so far in reducing the burden of malaria could be reversed. Interventions and operational tactics capable of controlling insecticide resistant malaria vector populations and delaying the evolution of resistance need to be urgently identified and properly investigated. One important insecticide resistance management strategy is to expose vector populations to a combination of unrelated insecticides. In this study I investigated the potential of this combination concept to control and manage the spread of indoor resting insecticide resistant African malaria vectors. A series of field evaluations were performed in experimental huts in selected malaria endemic sites to investigate; 1.the impact of combining non-pyrethroid IRS or wall linings with pyrethroid LLINs against malaria vector populations with different levels of insecticide resistance and 2.The efficacy of LLINs treated with a pyrethroid and an alternative compound against pyrethroid resistant mosquitoes. The capacity of the combined intervention approach to delay the spread of insecticide resistance genes was investigated via genotyping studies. I demonstrate that the use of combined interventions and mixture net with unrelated insecticides is an effective way to improve the control of pyrethroid resistance malaria vectors. However, the performance of these combinations will undoubtedly depend on the levels and type of resistance encountered. Where resistance to both insecticides exists, improved control is unlikely. While the use of single interventions would likely exacerbate resistance the combinations would be less beneficial for preventing selection of insecticide resistance when resistance genes are already well established. The impact of these findings on malaria vector control and resistance management is discussed

BT COTTON REFUGE POLICY

Since cotton producers do not own legal rights to kill insect populations that are susceptible to insecticides, individual producers may have no incentive to account for future, insecticide-resistance productivity losses arising from their pest-management decisions. As a result, the collective actions of producers may increase the rate of resistance development relative to the rate that maximizes social welfare. Concerns regarding insect-pest development of resistance to Bt cotton prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to establish legal limits on the proportion of total acres individual producers may plant, representing the first attempt to regulate the development of insecticide resistance and the first instance of the use of refuge as a policy instrument. Ever since Carlson and Castle first pointed out the resource characteristics of insecticide susceptibility, pest management in the presence of increasing resistance has been viewed as an exhaustible resource allocation problem, and many studies have examined efficient insecticide use in this setting. Resistance management studies found in the economics literature, however, have examined single-insect single-insecticide problems almost exclusively. The majority of genetic and entomological studies have followed suit. Since cotton producers routinely use multiple insecticides and insecticide mixtures to manage multiple insect pests, and since simulation and empirical evidence suggests that toxin mixtures can affect the rate of resistance development to component toxins, the standard model may not be well suited for the examination of refuge policies under cotton production settings. Static refuge policies that maximize the present value of profit flows attainable by producers over five- and 10-year planning horizons are examined using a deterministic, operational model that accounts for short- and long-run features of production and resistance development. The model accounts for the development of resistance in two cotton insect pests to Bt cotton and a popular conventional insecticide, and relationships between refuge policy, insecticide resistance, producer profit and producer behavior in Louisiana. The model is used to examine relationships between resistance simulation model parameters and refuge policies and comparative advantages between treated and untreated refuge policies.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Investigation of negative cross-resistance as a resistance-management tool for insecticide-treated nets.

Resistance management for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) remains a challenge. Options are limited, because a safe and highly active insecticide with a persistence of several months is required. These criteria have only been met by pyrethroids, although organophosphates (OPs) and carbamates have been considered as alternatives for impregnation of eave curtains. It has been observed that some pyrethroid-resistant mosquito strains show increased OP susceptibility over pyrethroid-susceptible strains (i.e., negative cross-resistance). The current study investigated whether this phenomenon applies to a range of mosquito species and strains, because a mixture or rotation strategy for resistance management could then be envisaged. Adult female mosquitoes from laboratory strains of Anopheles stephensi Liston, Anopheles gambiae Giles, and Culex quinquefasciatus Say were tested in World Health Organization susceptibility test kits. For An. stephensi, the highly pyrethroid-resistant DUB 234 strain showed the same level of resistance to malathion as the pyrethroid-susceptible DUB S. The malathion-resistant ST MAL strain was as susceptible to pyrethroids as the insecticide-susceptible BEECH. For An. gambiae, the malathion tolerance of the previously pyrethroid-resistant RSP strain was significantly higher than that of the insecticide-susceptible KWA. For Cx. quinquefasciatus, selection of the QUINQ strain with permethrin abolished preexisting resistance to the OP malathion as pyrethroid resistance increased, rendering the strain more susceptible to malathion than PEL SS. Some indication of negative cross-resistance to malathion was found for the permethrin-resistant MUHEZA strain. The occurrence of negative cross-resistance seems dependent on the history of insecticide selection and is not generally applicable. Resistance management for ITNs will need to use mechanisms other than negative cross-resistance to be effective

IMPACT OF A MORE INTENSIVE INSECT PEST INFESTATION LEVEL ON COTTON PRODUCTION: TEXAS HIGH PLAINS

This study evaluated implications of increased bollworm problems in a 20-county area of the Texas High Plains relative to cotton yields and economic impact. Results did not indicate a serious effect of bollworms upon lint yield when insecticides were used for control. However, estimated annual reduction in farmer profit due to the bollworm for 1979-81 was over $30 million. Yields were estimated to decline about 300,000 bales without insecticide use and about 30,000 bales with insecticide use. This decline suggests potentially serious implications for the comparative economic position of cotton in this region if insecticide resistance were to develop among insect pests.Crop Production/Industries,