A new study, jointly led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Center for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID) in Cameroon, has discovered part of the DNA of a key enzyme, known as cytochrome P450, that helps mosquitoes break down and survive exposure to pyrethroids, the main insecticides used to treat mosquito nets.
This new finding, published in Scientific translational medicinewill help to better implement insecticide resistance management strategies and contribute to reducing the burden of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where 90% of cases occur worldwide.
Professor Charles Wondji, professor of genetics and vector biology at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and lead author of the study, said:
“Our study designed field-applicable tools to easily monitor the spread of metabolic resistance in key malaria mosquito species and assess its impact on control interventions. These important findings can help maintain the effectiveness of insecticide-based tools, such as mosquito nets, which remain a cornerstone of malaria prevention.”
Mosquito nets and indoor mosquito repellent have been critical in controlling the spread of malaria, but progress has slowed over the past decade due to increased resistance to insecticides, particularly metabolic resistance processes in mosquitoes through the production of detoxification enzymes.
This growing global threat must be addressed to improve the effectiveness of current and future control strategies and to further reduce the burden of malaria, which accounts for 200 million cases and 600,000 deaths annually worldwide.
The study is the first to focus on malaria mosquitoes that have adapted to insecticides and developed resistance thanks to their gene.
