MOSQUITO RESISTANCE TO INSECTICIDES IN BULGARIA

Abstract

Mosquitoes are a group of blood-sucking insects that plays a major role in disease transmission in both humans and animals. They can pose a heavy nuisance, or serve as vectors of numerous viruses and parasites on most continents, including Europe. The strategy for successful control of the mosquito populations relies on the use of insecticides of five different categories: organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids, and biopesticides. The extensive use of the first four classes has resulted in the development of resistance originating in various mechanisms. The main ones are metabolic resistance and genetic resistance, manifested by point mutations in the insecticide targets, resulting in limited binding of neurotoxic substances. Much data is available on mosquito insecticide resistance in Bulgaria between 1948 and 1990, but only regarding organochlorines, organophosphates and carbamates. There is no data on pyrethroid resistance, which should raise an alarm for both public health authorities and private pest control companies since the only insecticides registered for professional mosquito control nowadays are pyrethroids. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the use of modern multidisciplinary approaches to study the resistance of native and invasive species of mosquitoes to insecticides, which should be a key contribution to elucidating their role in the circulation of pathogens of humans and animals and optimizing methods for controlling their populations.