Vector mosquito control is an integral part of malaria control. The global emergence of insecticide resistance in malaria-transmitting Anophelines has become an impediment and has created an urgent need for novel mosquito control approaches. In our new paper in Science Advances, led by Chinmay Tikhe and George Dimopoulos from Johns Hopkins University, we show that a biopesticide derived from the soil-dwelling bacterium Chromobacterium sp. Panama (Csp_P) kills insecticide-resistant Anopheles mosquitoes, regardless of their resistance mechanisms. In addition, sublethal dose of Csp_P acts as a synergist to now used chemical insecticides across multiple classes. Enclosed field trials in Burkina Faso, conducted in diverse ecological settings and supported by a mathematical model, have now demonstrated its potential for malaria control in settings with widespread insecticide resistance.
Check it out: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads3658.
EurekAlet!: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1067114.