Preliminary Report of the Insecticide Susceptibility Status of Aedes albopictus in Bangladesh

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Aedes albopictus is a highly invasive mosquito species and a vector of human arboviral diseases including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. There are no effective drugs or vaccines for the treatment or prevention of most of these diseases, so the primary option for disease prevention and control is to target mosquitoes, often using insecticides. Despite vector control efforts, cases of arboviral diseases are increasing in Bangladesh and it is important to understand if this escalation is associated with the presence of insecticide resistance in Aedes populations, including Ae. albopictus. The CDC bottle bioassays performed on Ae. albopictus from two districts in Bangladesh detected resistance to permethrin but susceptibility to deltamethrin, malathion, and bendiocarb. The detection of permethrin resistance is worrisome, since arbovirus vector control strategies in Bangladesh currently include the use of permethrin. Routine monitoring of the susceptibility status of key vector populations in Bangladesh will allow a better understanding of resistance trends, enabling the strengthening of control strategies.