Open AccessFrom resistance to persistence: Insights of a mathematical model on the indiscriminate use of insecticide
Author(s) -
Helio Schechtman,
Denise Valle,
Max O. Souza
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008862
Subject(s) - insecticide resistance , christian ministry , resistance (ecology) , public health , population , biology , public economics , environmental health , microbiology and biotechnology , business , toxicology , economics , political science , ecology , medicine , nursing , law
The development of insecticide resistance is becoming a threat to many arboviruses control programs worldwide. While this has been attributed to the indiscriminate use of insecticide, a more theoretical study is apparently not available. Using in-silico experiments, we investigated the effects of two different policies: one used by the Brazilian Ministry of Health (which follows the World Health Organization protocol) and a more permissive one, akin to those employed by various gated communities and private companies. The results show that the public policy does not lead to resistance fixation. On the other hand, permissive application of adulticide, such as intensive domestic use mainly during epidemic periods, might lead to the fixation of a resistant population, even when resistance is associated with moderate fitness costs.