The military nerve agents are a family of highly toxic phosphoric acid esters, structurally related to the larger family of organophosphate compounds. In fact, development of nerve agents was a by-product of insecticide research and development (OSRD, 1946; Hayes, 1982). Germany developed nerve agents just before and during World War II; subsequently, several countries, including the United Sta...

CONTEXT Carbamate insecticides are widely used in commercial agriculture and home gardening. A serious side effect of organophosphate and carbamate intoxication is the development of acute pancreatitis. CASE REPORT A 36-year-old Caucasian woman was admitted to our hospital with cholinergic crisis and pancreatitis soon after the ingestion of a carbamate insecticide (carbofuran). An abdominal C...

To develop new avenues for synthesizing novel antidotes for organophosphate poisoning and for detection of the organophosphates, we have turned to recombinant DNA methods to synthesize cholinesterases with unusual properties. For antidotal therapy we describe mutations of the native mouse and human enzymes that allow for enhanced rates of oxime reactivation. Such enzymes, when localized in the ...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Interest in insect glutathione s-transferases (GSTs) has primarily focused on their role in insecticide resistance. These play an important role in biotransformation and detoxification of many different xenobiotic and endogenous substances including insecticides. The GST activity among 10 laboratory selected insecticide resistant and susceptible/control strains of Anophe...

OBJECTIVE To explore temporal variation in insecticide susceptibility of Anopheles gambiae s.l. populations to the four chemical groups of insecticides used in public health and agriculture, in close match with the large-scale cotton spraying programme implemented in the cotton-growing area of North Cameroon. METHODS Mosquito larvae were collected in 2005 before (mid June), during (mid August...

A sample of Aedes aegypti (L.) from Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, with a high level of temephos resistance (19.58x at the 50% lethal concentration [LC50]), was subjected to temephos selection to evaluate the utility of this organophosphate insecticide for mosquito control. High resistance developed after six generations of selection (200.00x). Little or no cross-resistance was observed to the organop...

The rice stink bug [Oebalus pugnax (F.)] is one of the important pests commonly found in Arkansas rice fields. When outbreaks in fields reach critical levels, an insecticide application is an option. Pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides usually give excellent contact mortality, but both groups lack any significant residual activity. Two insecticides, dinotefuran and clothianidin, were te...

BACKGROUND Chemicals are used on bed nets in order to prevent infected bites and to kill aggressive malaria vectors. Because pyrethroid resistance has become widespread in the main malaria vectors, research for alternative active ingredients becomes urgent. Mixing a repellent and a non-pyrethroid insecticide seemed to be a promising tool as mixtures in the laboratory showed the same features as...

BACKGROUND Establishing the extent, geographical distribution and mechanisms of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is a prerequisite for resistance management. Here, we report a widespread distribution of insecticide resistance in the major malaria vector An. funestus across Uganda and western Kenya under the control of metabolic resistance mechanisms. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Fe...