Insecticide resistance status of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Malaysia (2010 to 2022): A review

Abstract

This review aimed to determine the prevalence of the insecticide resistance status of the field-collected Aedes (Ae.) aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Malaysia from 2010 to 2022 towards carbamates, organochlorines, organophosphates and pyrethroids. Biological and environmental controls were summarized with an emphasis on the mosquito vector control strategies in Malaysia. The information in this review was extracted from several databases such as PubMed (MEDLINE), Science Direct and Scopus by using keywords including “insecticide resistance”, “carbamate resistance”, “organochlorine resistance”, “organophosphate resistance”, “pyrethroid resistance”, “Aedes” and “Malaysia”, between January 2022 and December 2022. Distribution of resistant Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Malaysia was mapped using QGIS software. Insecticide resistance in both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus is widespread in Malaysia, although the rates vary by states. The most notable was the steep increase in permethrin resistance of Ae. aegypti in Selangor, Malaysia, over the past decade. Ae. albopictus also displayed moderate resistance to permethrin, though not as widespread as Ae. aegypti in Selangor, but showed sign of resistance in Sarawak, East Malaysia. Resistance towards four main classes of insecticides have been widely documented in Malaysia. The extensive resistance towards permethrin in Malaysia which is one of the current insecticides used in Malaysia suggested that policies supporting the widespread use of permethrin fogging needs further evaluation.

Keywords

• aedes; pyrethroids; insecticide resistance; malaysia; vector control