Evaluation of temephos and pyriproxifen against Aedes aegypti (Diptera:Culicidae) from Guayaquil, Ecuador

摘要

Introduction: the Ministry of Public Health in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, has so far used temephos (abate) as the main chemical measure for larval control of Aedes aegypti, the fundamental dengue vector in the country. Objectives: determine temephos resistance and its biochemical mechanisms in two strains of Aedes aegypti in Ecuador, and determine the efficacy of the growth regulator pyriproxyfen as a possible control alternative. Methods: resistance to organophosphorus insecticide temephos and the efficacy of pyriproxyfen were evaluated in Aedes aegypti larvae from two areas (Pascuales and Guayacanes) in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, by means of methodologies recommended by the World Health Organization. Metabolic resistance mechanisms were determined by biochemical assays and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results: larvae from the Pascuales strain showed moderate resistance to temephos, whereas those from the Guayacanes strain were found to be susceptible. Biochemical assays and electrophoresis revealed that the resistance mechanism of metabolic action, based on increased esterase-A4 activity, was responsible for the temephos resistance observed. The doses of pyriproxyfen causing 50 % emergence inhibition (EI50) and 95 % (EI95) were very similar between strains from Ecuador and the reference insecticide susceptible strain Rockefeller. Conclusions: it was found that the esterase mechanism, responsible for temephos resistance, is present in Aedes aegypti from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Hence the need to monitor this phenomenon in different regions of the country. The growth regulator pyriproxyfen proved to be very effective, which turns it into an alternative to evaluate for the control of Aedes aegypti populations in Ecuador.