Honduras: Field Evaluations of 'Bacillus thuringiensis' var. 'Israelensis (Bti)' against 'Anopheles' Larvae

摘要

Concerns about environmental contamination, insect resistance, cost and other problems associated with conventional chemical insecticides has intensified the search for alternative interventions for mosquito control. The discovery and commercial development of the mosquito larvicidal bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) have provided a highly selective and safe biological control agent that will rapidly kill mosquito larvae while leaving mosquito predators and other non-target organisms unharmed. Drs. Lacey and Walker went to Honduras in May 1989 to conduct field evaluations of Bti as a larvicide of Anopheles vectors of malaria in Honduras. Five tests were successfully conducted in lagoons, ricefields, canals, and flooded pastures in Zamora, Catacamas, Portrillos, and Zamorano. Efficacy of Bti, calculated as percentage reduction in numbers of Anopheles, albimanus and Anopheles pseudopunctipennis larvae in comparisons before and after treatment, was very high.