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Abstract:
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"Intensive use of insecticides in agriculture has caused concern for the development of insecticide resistance in disease vectors, potentially undermining vector-borne disease control. The purpose of this study was to identify risk areas in Thailand where insecticide resistance in malaria mosquitoes might develop as a consequence of crop protection activities in agriculture. The study provides guidelines on how to delineate risk areas. A review of insecticide resistance in disease vectors and the potential role of agricultural insecticides is presented. Land use and malaria endemic areas were mapped in four provinces in Thailand: Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, and Kanchanaburi. Land use classes were assigned a value reflecting its insecticide use. Malaria endemic maps reflect vector distribution. Land use and malaria endemic maps were overlaid to identify areas with potential increased risk for resistance development in malaria vectors due to insecticide-intensive agriculture. Crops with the highest insecticide use were fruit and vegetables. There were small and scattered areas where malaria mosquito insecticide resistance might develop through exposure to agricultural insecticides, apart from some larger, relatively contiguous, areas in northern Chiang Mai province. A potential higher risk of vector control failure may be expected in the identified risk areas due to development of insecticide resistance in malaria mosquitoes. Despite of the relatively small and scattered risk areas identified in this study, current agricultural pest control may become a threat to malaria vector control in Thailand and neighboring countries, particularly considering the present expansion and intensification of agriculture in the region. The report emphasizes the importance of collaboration between the agriculture and health sectors to improve resistance surveillance and to initiate integrated pest and vector management interventions to avoid or minimize double insecticide exposure to insect vectors and to reduce risks to human and environmental health."
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