Johnson Matowo

University

Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Moshi (KCMC).

PhD Title

Strategies for monitoring/managing insecticide resistance in Anopheles arabiensis in Lower Moshi, North Eastern Tanzania.

Abstract

With the scaling up of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying, the development of pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae complex is the most significant threat to the successes currently being made in malaria control in Africa (WHO 2008). The 2004-2005 longitudinal susceptibility testing of Anopheles arabiensis in Lower Moshi rice-irrigation area (unpublished) revealed reduced susceptibility of this vector population to permethrin. Detection of kdr gene (Manisha et al., 2006); and the recent observed high resistance, to permethrin, deltamethrin and lambdacyhalothrin. (In preparation) implies that there is an urgent need to develop strategies for managing this resistance; otherwise, difficulty with control programmes against this vector population will be encountered. A new paradigm for disease control emphasizes on the use of combination insecticides with alternative chemical actions to control disease transmission by breaking man-vector contact (Asidi et al., 2005). A one year study will be carried out on Lower Moshi Anopheles arabiensis to prove the concept that the use of new insecticides such as chlorfenapyr and indoxacarb and other insecticides or residual synergists would manage pyrethroid resistance by themselves or in combination with pyrethroid. This will involve tunnel tests, bioassays, microplate assays, gene sequencing in laboratory and semi-field trials in experimental huts.