Susceptibility of <i>Anopheles gambiae complex </i>to carbamates and organophosphate insecticides in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Rapid emergence in insecticide resistance among malaria vector populations to commonly used public health insecticides poses a challenge to current malaria vector control strategies and interventions in sub- Saharan Africa. This study was conducted to determine the susceptibility status of female An.gambiae s.l to Propoxur (0.01%) and bendiocarb (0.1%) (carbamate) and pirimiphosmethyl (0.25%) (organophosphate) insecticides in Uyo Metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The larvae of An. gambiae s.l were collected from natural water bodies and other potential breeding sites from different sites in Uyo Metropolis. Insecticide susceptibility bioassays were performed according to the World Health Organization standard operating procedures on 2-3 days old, sugar-fed but none blood fed female Anopheles mosquitoes. Post exposure mortality after 24 hours and knockdown values for KDT50 and KDT95 were calculated. Knock-down at 1 hour insecticide exposure ranged from 94 % to 100 %. Mortality after 24 hours post exposure was 100% for all insecticides except Propoxur which was 98 %. There was high variability in KDT50 and KDT95 values (in minutes) with propoxur (4.337 and 15.620), Bendiocarb (9.523 and 20.996) and pirimiphosmethyl (39.908 and 61.722) respectively. Adopting the WHO criteria, the mosquitoes were not resistant to any of the insecticides tested. The results therefore showed that vector control campaigns employing the use of any of these insecticides in the study area would not be compromised. However, there is need for continued monitoring to ensure early detection of resistance. Keywords: Anopheles gambiae; insecticide susceptibility; Uyo; Akwa Ibom State; Nigeria.