Knockdown resistance mutations are common and widely distributed in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas that transmit plague in Madagascar.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, remains an important disease in Madagascar, where the oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, is a primary vector. To control fleas, synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) have been used for >20 years, resulting in resistance in many X. cheopis populations. The most common mechanisms of SP resistance are target site mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene.

Methodology/principal findings

We obtained 25 collections of X. cheopis from 22 locations across Madagascar and performed phenotypic tests to determine resistance to deltamethrin, permethrin, and/or dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Most populations were resistant to all these insecticides. We sequenced a 535 bp segment of the VGSC gene and identified t

SUBMITTER: Hutton SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10443838 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature