Basic Information on Dengue Fever

Increase in Mosquitoes Resistant to Pesticides

Measures taken worldwide are increasing the number of mosquitoes that are resistant to pesticides.

Increase in Mosquitoes Resistant to Pesticides

As mentioned in the previous section, various measures have been taken worldwide to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne infectious diseases. Malaria outbreaks in Africa fell by 40% between 2000 and 2015, and it is estimated that more than 600 million people have been saved from infection over 15 years. Among them, pesticide-coated mosquito nets played a major role [1]. However, the number of mosquitoes that are resistant to pesticide components is increasing; that is, the number of mosquitoes that do not die even if pesticides are used is increasing.

What is a resistant mosquito?

A typical component of pesticides is a group of compounds called pyrethroids. These compounds act on the voltage-gated sodium channels expressed in mosquito neurons, causing abnormal neural excitation and killing mosquitoes. In resistant mosquitoes, the mosquito protein on which the pesticide component interacts is mutated and cannot be bound, or the cuticle that constitutes the surface of the mosquito has changed, making it difficult for the pesticide component to enter the body [2].

Refernce:

  • [1]
    Bhatt S., Weiss DJ., Cameron E., Bisanzio D., Mappin B., Dalrymple U., Battle KE., Moyes CL., Henry A., Eckhoff PA., Wenger EA., Briet O., Penny MA., Smith TA., Bennett A., Yukich J., Eisele TP., Griffin JT., Fergus CA., Hynch M., Lindgren F., Cohen JM., Murray CLF., Smith DL., Hay SI., Cibulskis RE., Gething PW. (2015) The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015. Nature, 526: 207-211
  • [2]
    Vontas J., Katsavou E., Mavridis K. (2020) Cytochrome P450-based metabolic insecticide resistance in Anopheles and Aedes mosquito vectors: Mudding the waters. Pestic Biochem Physiol. 170: 104666
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