Insecticide resistance: a challenge to malaria vector control in Ethiopia

Materials and methods Between 2008 and 2011, insecticide susceptibility tests were carried out in 39 localities out of which 12 were repeatedly visited from 2 to 4 years. Tests were conducted using WHO test kits and procedures [1] on nonblood fed, 48-72 hours old female An. arabiensis which were reared from field collected larvae and pupae. The insecticides were discriminating doses of DDT, malathion, fenitrothion, primiphos-methyl, propoxur, bendiocarb, deltamethrin and lambdacyhalothrin. Controls were exposed to insecticide free oil impregnated papers. The WHO recommendations were applied to classify the population as susceptible, acquiring possible resistance and resistance [1]. The presence and frequency of the target site insensitive resistance mechanisms, kdr (L1014F mutation) and ace-1 (G119S mutation) were investigated from vector populations of nine localities following the procedures described in [2,3].