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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316296

Research Project: Prevention of Arthropod Bites

Location: Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory

Title: Baseline susceptibility to pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides in two old world sand fly species (diptera: psychodidae)

Author
item Li, Andrew
item Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken
item Gibson, Seth
item BAST, JOSHUA - United States Army Medical Research Unit
item DEBBOUM, MUSTAPHA - Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services

Submitted to: Army Medical Department Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2015
Publication Date: 8/11/2015
Citation: Li, A.Y., Perez De Leon, A.A., Linthicum, K., Britch, S.C., Bast, J.D., Debboum, M. 2015. Baseline susceptibility to pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides in two old world sand fly species (diptera: psychodidae). Army Medical Department Journal. p. 3-9.

Interpretive Summary: Phlebotomine sand flies are blood-feeding insects that transmit pathogens causing Leishmaniasis. Sand flies pose a significant threat to U.S. military personnel when deployed to the Middle East and Africa where those disease insect vectors are endemic. A sand fly research project was initiated by USDA scientists with support from the Department of Defense’s Deployed Warfighter Protection (DWFP) Program to evaluate the susceptibility of two old world sand fly species, Phlebotomus papatasi and P. duboscqi, to a number of commonly used pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides. A simple glass vial bioassay technique, which is a modified version of the CDC bottle assay, was utilized in this study. The exposure time-mortality relationship at a given insecticide concentration was determined for each of the insecticides, and their relative toxicity against these two sand fly species was ranked based on bioassay results. This study validated this new bioassay technique and also generated baseline insecticide susceptibility data that can aid future insecticide resistance monitoring work

Technical Abstract: A study was conducted with support from the Department of Defense’s Deployed Warfighter Protection (DWFP) Program to evaluate the susceptibility of two old world sand fly species, Phlebotomus papatasi and P. duboscqi, to a number of commonly used pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides. A simple glass vial bioassay technique, which is a modified version of the CDC bottle assay, was utilized in this study. The exposure time-mortality relationship was determined and used to rank relative toxicity of the insecticides tested. Prallethrin and '-cyhalothrin were most toxic to both sand fly species, followed by deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin and permethrin, and etofenprox. The order of relative toxicity of organophosphate insecticides against P. papatasi was diazinon = chlorpyrifos > coumaphos > dichlorvos. Chlorpyrifos appeared to be more toxic than malathion and carbaryl against P. duboscqi sand flies.