Insecticide Susceptibility Status of Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) Sergenti and Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) Papatasi in Endemic Foci of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Morocco

In Morocco, cutaneous leishmaniasis is transmitted by Phlebotomus sergenti and Ph. papatasi. Vector control is mainly based on environmental management but indoor residual spraying with synthetic pyrethroids is applied in many foci of Leishmania tropica. However, the levels and distribution of sandfly susceptibility to insecticides currently used has not been studied yet. Hence, this study was undertaken to establish the susceptibility status of Ph. sergenti and Ph. papatasi to lambdacyhalothrin, DDT and malathion.

Methods

The insecticide susceptibility status of Ph. sergenti and Ph. papatasi was assessed during 2011, following the standard WHO technique based on discriminating dosage. A series of twenty-five susceptibility tests were carried out on wild populations of Ph. sergenti and Ph. papatasi collected by CDC light traps from seven villages in six different provinces. Knockdown rates (KDT) were noted at 5 min intervals during the exposure to DDT and to lambdacyhalothrin. After one hour of exposure, sandflies were transferred to the observation tubes for 24 hours. After this period, mortality rate was calculated. Data were analyzed by Probit analysis program to determine the knockdown time 50% and 90% (KDT50 and KDT90) values.

Results

Study results showed that Ph.sergenti and Ph. papatasi were susceptible to all insecticides tested. Comparison of KDT values showed a clear difference between the insecticide knock-down effect in studied villages. This effect was lower in areas subject to high selective public health insecticide pressure in the framework of malaria or leishmaniasis control.

Conclusion

Phlebotomus sergenti and Ph. papatasi are susceptible to the insecticides tested in the seven studied villages but they showed a low knockdown effect in Azilal, Chichaoua and Settat. Therefore, a study of insecticide susceptibility of these vectors in other foci of leishmaniasis is recommended and the level of their susceptibility should be regularly monitored.

Authors: Chafika Faraj, Souad Ouahabi, El Bachir Adlaoui, Mohamed Elkohli, Lhoussine Lakraa, Mohammed ElRhazi and Btissam Ameur

Full Article: Insecticide susceptibility status of Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti and Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) papatasi in endemic foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Morocco (PDF)

Source: Parasites & Vectors 2012, 5:51 doi:10.1186/1756-3305-5-51

Published: 19 March 2012

Copyright: © 2012 Chafika Faraj et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.