Four-year monitoring of the malaria vector Anopheles funestus in central-west Cameroon reveals an escalation of pyrethroid resistance combined with high malaria transmission
BMC Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12879-026-12708-w
- PMID
- 41606511
- PMCID
- PMC12924244
- OpenAlex
- W7125942336
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The combination of high Plasmodium infection rates, co-circulation of three malaria parasite species, and intense pyrethroid resistance poses a serious threat to malaria control in the region. The findings support prioritizing deployment of PBO-based nets and organophosphate-based indoor residual spraying, along with continuous surveillance to guide intervention strategies toward malaria elimination.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study assessed temporal changes in insecticide resistance and malaria transmission in Anopheles funestus over four years (2020-2023) in Mibellon, Cameroon, comparing findings to earlier 2015-2018 data.
Study design
A longitudinal surveillance study conducted over four years using WHO standard susceptibility bioassays, resistance intensity tests, cone assays, molecular genotyping of resistance markers, gene expression analysis by RT-qPCR, and sporozoite detection by TaqMan and nested-PCR.
Population and setting
The study was conducted in Mibellon, central-west Cameroon, targeting the malaria vector Anopheles funestus sensu stricto.
Main findings
Plasmodium sporozoite infection rates in mosquitoes ranged from 4 to 21 percent, predominantly P. falciparum with mixed infections of P. malariae and P. ovale. Pyrethroid resistance intensified markedly, with permethrin mortality dropping from 77.7 percent in 2015 to 23.2 percent in 2023 and deltamethrin mortality falling from 46.6 percent in 2016 to 8.5 percent in 2023, while organophosphate susceptibility remained complete. High-intensity pyrethroid resistance was recorded across all pyrethroids, and genetic markers G454A-CYP9K1 and 4.3 kb structural variant alleles increased rapidly to high frequency concurrent with phenotypic resistance intensification. PBO-based nets showed high efficacy with slight decline over time, while pyrethroid-only nets lost efficacy completely.
Public-health relevance
The combination of high Plasmodium infection rates, co-circulation of three malaria parasite species, and intense pyrethroid resistance poses a serious threat to malaria control in the region. The findings support prioritizing deployment of PBO-based nets and organophosphate-based indoor residual spraying, along with continuous surveillance to guide intervention strategies toward malaria elimination.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. Full assessment of study limitations, including sampling methodology, statistical power, potential confounders, and generalizability, requires review of the original paper.
GIDS interpretation
The article is discoverable through GIDS disease and country classifiers (Malaria, Cameroon) and topics including surveillance, transmission dynamics, and treatment. These links reflect the study's focus on longitudinal vector surveillance, resistance monitoring, and parasite infection dynamics, providing context for editorial review without connecting to active outbreak signals.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 9 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.