Impact of sublethal pyrethroid exposure on resistant Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes’ fitness

Background: : There is increasing evidence of insecticide resistance spreading among wild mosquito populations, which is widely believed to compromise vector control once it reaches a threshold that enables mosquitoes to survive exposure to long lasting treated bed-net (LLIN) or indoor residual spraying (IRS). However, very little is known about the long-term impact of insecticide resistance on malaria transmission, which makes the consequence of insecticide resistance spreading difficult to predict. Methods: : To gain more clarity, we have assessed five life-history traits of a resistant Anopheles gambiae laboratory strain that was repeatedly exposed to a LLIN and compared with individuals issued from the same strain but exposed to an untreated bed-net. Results: : Out of the five measured life-history traits, four were significantly affected by exposure to insecticides. Indeed, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov non-parametric test revealed a significant (i) drop in blood feeding mean rates (P=0.000000494), (ii) increase in 24-hours post-exposure (P= 0.000008559) and (iii) end of gonotrophic cycle mortality (P =0.0005749), and (iv) drop in egg laying rate (P=0.000107) when mosquitoes were exposed. Conclusion: Our study shows that in a context of widespread of resistance to insecticides, current pyrethroid-based vector control tools can still confer protection against malaria