How do insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and drug resistance in Plasmodium affect malaria control?

Insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and drug resistance in Plasmodium parasites are significant obstacles to malaria control, as they undermine the primary tools used to prevent and treat the disease.12

Impact on Malaria Control

• Insecticide Resistance: The effectiveness of vector control, such as the use of insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying, is compromised when Anopheles mosquitoes develop resistance to common insecticides like DDT and deltamethrin. This resistance allows mosquito populations to persist, increasing the risk of transmission in endemic areas.123
• Drug Resistance: The emergence of parasites resistant to standard treatments, such as chloroquine and more recently artemisinin, has led to increased treatment failure and higher incidence rates of the disease. When parasites become resistant, previously effective therapies are rendered useless, forcing a reliance on more complex, expensive, or limited alternatives.145

To combat these challenges, global health strategies now emphasize multidrug combination therapy to delay the development of resistance and ensure that parasites are attacked through multiple mechanisms.15