Susceptibility status of Anopheles dthali and An. fluviatilis to commonly used larvicides in an endemic focus of malaria, southern Iran.

Malaria control is increasingly recognised as playing a key role in poverty reduction in high burdened countries. The programme for malaria eradication based on vector control using very large quantities of DDT started in 1949 in the country and resulted in a dramatic reduction in malaria incidence. Vector population recovery, mainly due to resistance to DDT in Anopheles populations as well as DDT’s lack of selectivity affecting non-target populations including mosquito competitors, predators and pathogens, soon reversed early success1. Therefore, other insecticides belonging to organochlorine, organophosphate, carbamate and pyrethroid groups were produced and used in the following years. Extensive use of chemical insecticides against vector mosquitoes for the control of malaria for about four decades, has resulted in development of resistance in vector mosquitoes to these insecticides and hazards to the environment.