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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316609
Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Pyrethroid resistance is widespread among Florida populations of Aedes aegypti

Author
item ESTEP, ALDEN - Navy And Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC)
item Sanscrainte, Neil
item Becnel, James

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/2/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Aedes aegypti is an efficient vector of a number of diseases that affect man and is of increasing concern because of the reemergence of dengue and recent identification of locally acquired chikungunya in Florida. Pesticide resistance in this species has been demonstrated in several neighboring countries throughout the Carribbean. The resistance status of local populations is of critical importance for effective management by control districts in Florida but little is known. In this study, we performed toxicological testing by direct topical application on populations of Aedes aegypti collected from several locations in North and North central Florida. These populations showed up to 85-fold resistance to permethrin when compared to the susceptible Orlando-1952 strain. Resistance levels in field populations were similar to those of a Puerto Rican pyrethroid resistant line available from BEI resources. We examined the molecular basis for this resistance by performing melt curve analysis of the sodium channel transcript to determine the presence of the “kdr” mutation. The kdr mutation is widespread in the populations we examined but at various levels of penetrance. Assays with synergist examined the proportion of resistance in each population that due to esterase activity.