Abstract Background Insecticide resistance monitoring in vector populations is a key pillar of the Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management in malaria vectors. This study assessed the susceptibility of Anopheles arabiensis populations from Mwea and Ahero, Kenya to six insecticides. The association between insecticide resistance and Microsporidia MB infection, a symbiont known to block malaria transmission in An. arabiensis was also investigated. Methods Mosquitoes were exposed to permethrin, deltamethrin, alphacypermethrin, malathion, bendiocarb, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassay. Resistance intensity and synergist bioassays for pyrethroids were conducted to evaluate the strength of resistance and the contribution of cytochrome P450s to pyrethroid resistance. Microsporidia MB infection was detected and quantified using qPCR. Results A total of 3120 females were tested. Populations from both study sites were susceptible to bendiocarb but resistant to all three pyrethroids. Mortality rates following exposure to alpha-cypermethrin, permethrin, and deltamethrin respectively were 0%, 4.7%, and 25.7% in Ahero, and 25.7%, 6.2%, and 26.6% in Mwea. Mortality increased with increasing permethrin concentration with 1 × , 2 × , 5 × , and 10 × values of 4.7%, 17.2%, 70.8%, and 84.4% respectively in Ahero and 6.2%, 29.4%, 85.3%, and 100% in Mwea. The Ahero population was susceptible to malathion but had reduced susceptibility to DDT (92.7%) while the Mwea population was susceptible to DDT and resistant to malathion (69.2%). Pre-exposure to piperonyl butoxide fully restored pyrethroid susceptibility in the Mwea population, indicating metabolic resistance and partially restored permethrin susceptibility (4.7 to 86.7%) in Ahero population, indicating the presence of other resistance mechanisms. Microsporidia MB was detected in Ahero population and mean (± se) infection density was significantly higher in mosquitoes that survived 2 × and 5 × permethrin doses (1017.6 ± 296.6) compared with those that succumbed to these doses (171.3 ± 78.0). Conclusions Anopheles arabiensis populations from the two sites exhibit heterogeneous yet high levels of insecticide resistance, particularly to pyrethroids. The findings highlight the need to incorporate synergist-based interventions into resistance management strategies. This study is the first to document an association between Microsporidia MB density and the intensity of insecticide resistance in An. arabiensis , and further studies are needed to clarify this relationship and its significance to malaria control. Graphical abstract
Mutwiri et al. (2026) studied this question.