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DDT resistance in Anopheles culicifacies Giles and A. subpictus Grassi (Diptera: Culicidae) from Sri Lanka: a field study on the mechanisms and changes in gene frequency after cessation of DDT spraying

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P. R. J. Herath ,
K. G. I. Jayawardena ,
J. Hemingway  and
J. Harris
P. R. J. Herath
Affiliation:
Anti-Malaria Campaign, P.O. Box 1472, Narahenpita, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka
K. G. I. Jayawardena
Affiliation:
Anti-Malaria Campaign, P.O. Box 1472, Narahenpita, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka
J. Hemingway*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Gower St, London, WCIE 7HT, UK
J. Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Gower St, London, WCIE 7HT, UK
*
* To whom all correspondence should be sent.
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Abstract

The frequency of DDT resistance in Anopheles culicifacies Giles in Sri Lanka remained relatively constant from the cessation of DDT use for malaria control in 1975 until 1982. From 1983 to 1986, the frequency of resistance decreased slowly but significantly. In contrast, the resistance gene frequency in A. subpictus Grassi declined between 1980 and 1983, after which the trend was reversed, and there was a significant increase in DDT resistance in 1984–86. This rise in DDT resistance cannot be attributed to positive DDT selection pressure as there has been little or no agricultural use of DDT during this period. It is also unlikely that the rise in resistance is due to pyrethroid selection as the quantity of pyrethroids used on the island is low and there is no evidence of pyrethroid resistance from WHO susceptibility tests. Studies with the synergists FDMC (4-chloro-α-(4-chlorophenyl)-α-(trifluoromethyl)benzenemethanol) and piperonyl butoxide indicated the involvement of DDT-dehydrochlorinase rather than oxidase in the resistance. This was confirmed by metabolism studies, as DDT-resistant adults of both A. culicifacies and A. subpictus showed an increase in the rate of DDE production, which was also correlated with an increase in glutathione transferase activity.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , December 1988 , pp. 717 - 723
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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