• UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACHES TO VECTOR CONTROL

The mainstream literature on malaria vector control covers IRS and LLIN, to the exclusion of almost all else. Almost, but not quite. What about the remaining 1 percent? Out of the box? Off the wall?

For those interested, one abstract and a few weblinks:

PNAS October 13, 2009 vol. 106 no. 41 17443-17447

Fungal infection counters insecticide resistance in African malaria mosquitoes

Full text is at http://www.pnas.org/content/106/41/17443.long

Abstract

The evolution of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes is threatening the effectiveness and sustainability of malaria control programs in various parts of the world. Through their unique mode of action, entomopathogenic fungi provide promising alternatives to chemical control. However, potential interactions between fungal infection and insecticide resistance, such as cross-resistance, have not been investigated. We show that insecticide-resistant Anopheles mosquitoes remain susceptible to infection with the fungus Beauveria bassiana. Four different mosquito strains with high resistance levels against pyrethroids, organochlorines, or carbamates were equally susceptible to B. bassiana infection as their baseline counterparts, showing significantly reduced mosquito survival. Moreover, fungal infection reduced the expression of resistance to the key public health insecticides permethrin and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. Mosquitoes preinfected with B. bassiana or Metarhizium anisopliae showed a significant increase in mortality after insecticide exposure compared with uninfected control mosquitoes. Our results show a high potential utility of fungal biopesticides for complementing existing vector control measures and provide products for use in resistance management strategies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22022471

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21985822

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21136078

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21946712

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20465990

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19052336

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21881776

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21897846

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20210990