A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Public Health Research of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology
This study assessed the susceptibility of immature stages of An. arabiensis, An. gambiae and An.
funestus to novaluron and the autodissemination technique using An. arabiensis. Susceptibility
bioassays using technical grade novaluron (98% active ingredient) were performed inside the
semi-field system using first instar larvae of the mosquito test species. A total of 1500 larvae were
exposed to novaluron within three replicates of control and treatment assays. Concentration ranges
of 0.01 mg/l to 2 mg/l of novaluron were tested to establish lethal concentration (LC) sufficient to
kills 50%, 90% and 99% of the exposed larvae (LC50, LC90 and LC99) by using log-dose response
analysis. The autodissemination experiment exposed 2500 mated female blood fed An. arabiensis
mosquitoes (aged 6-7 days) to both contaminated and uncontaminated clay pots. In two each
chambers in the semi-field tunnel cage; an artificial breeding habitats were provided in each
chamber to assess the autodissemination. The successful autodissemination and contamination was
assessed by comparing larval mortality from treated and untreated chambers. An. gambiae were
highly susceptible to novaluron followed by An. arabiensis and then An. funestus. Lethal
concentrations, LC50, LC90 and LC99 (95%CI) in mg/l for An. gambiae were 0.018 (0.016-0.020),
0.546 (0.374-0.719) and 2.001 (1.986-3.206) respectively. For An. arabiensis were 0.032 (0.027-
0.038), 0.332 (0.168-0.496) and 2.013 (1.997-4.491); and for An. funestus were 0.02561 (0.02140-
0.0299), 1 (0.4657-1.5347) and 5.580 (4.687-8.496). High larval mortality was recorded at high
concentration (2mg/L) for all species, with 80% mortality within 3 days post exposure. Similarly,
low larval mortality was observed at low concentration (0.1 mg/L) (for all species) with 80%
mortality within 9 days post exposure. There were no evidence of autodissemination following
adults’ exposure to novaluron. The results showed no significant difference between treatment and
control cups when An. arabiensis larvae were exposed to the water samples from the breeding
habitats. The study demonstrates the efficacy of novaluron against immature stages of susceptible
and resistant Anopheles mosquito species. The findings present a promising candidate IGR for
rotation to counteract the insecticide resistance development. Moreover, these results warrant
further evaluation of novaluron for autodissemination by vector species for its inclusion in rotation
to prevent evolution of resistance in both chemistries.