Delhi researchers worry over mosquitoes that survived powerful insecticide
Researchers at the University of Delhi have found that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are showing early signs of resistance to the common insecticide α-cypermethrin. The study identified specific enzymes that may be helping the insects survive exposure.
Why it matters
Increased insecticide resistance in disease-carrying mosquitoes poses a significant threat to public health efforts to control dengue and other illnesses.
While India is a country filled with annual cultural traditions, a natural one that returns every year without fail is the buzzing around the bed as soon as the monsoon rains begin pelting the ground. Most of the mosquitoes that entered homes and offices were removed with the help of α-cypermethrin, a widely used pyrethroid insecticide. But now, a University of Delhi study suggests that a laboratory strain of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito known for spreading dengue, may be showing an early warning of lower vulnerability to the insecticide. At the suggested diagnostic dose, 97.91% of the adult females died.
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