Effect of fenthion treatment on larval densities of insecticide-resistant Culex quinquefasciatus in an urban area of Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka the national Anti-Filaria Campaign (AFC) has routinely employed fenthion since 1974 for larvicidal control of Culex quinquefasciatus, the vector of Bancroftian filariasis in urban areas, where this mosquito breeds prolifically in polluted waters. During 1994 the efficacy of AFC fenthion treatment against organophosphate-resistant Cx quinquefasciatus was investigated at Dehiwela, near Colombo. The AFC target rate of fenthion application was 1 mg a.i./l, but the actual concentrations of fenthion in freshly treated pits ranged from 0.64 to 63.2 mg a.i./l. There was significant suppression of larval densities in treated soakage pits, the predominant breeding site of Cx quinquefasciatus, although the mosquito population was 6-fold resistant to fenthion at the LC50 level. Production of pupae was almost completely prevented in soakage pits which were sprayed weekly with fenthion, indicating that adult mosquito emergence from this source was minimal. The rapid decline in concentration of fenthion detected in the water of soakage pits indicated that a weekly treatment schedule is essential for effective control. With the rapid recolonization of treated sites, the weekly schedule must be strictly implemented in order to achieve control of resistant larvae. Fenthion activity levels detected in treated pits suggest that a 7-10 day schedule of retreatment would completely suppress susceptible Cx quinquefasciatus.