Insecticide resistance management in malaria vectors

Widespread scale-up of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) has substantially reduced malaria but has also imposed strong selection pressure on major vectors such as the Anopheles gambiae and An. funestus complexes. Multiple resistance mechanisms including target site mutations, metabolic detoxification and behavioural avoidance, now frequently co occur and span several insecticide classes, undermining current tools. Many resistance alleles and over expressed detoxification pathways carry fitness costs (e.g. reduced survival, fecundity or mating success in the absence of insecticide), which shape resistance dynamics and can create opportunities for informed management.Despite clear warning signals and global guidance, programmatic decisions often lag: resistance data are under used, fitness costs are rarely considered, and adoption of novel or diversified tools is slow. This Research Topic seeks to close three main gaps: (i) weak integration of resistance and fitness cost evidence into intervention design, (ii) fragmented surveillance systems that do not support adaptive insecticide resistance management (IRM), and (iii) limited evidence on the operational, economic and policy implications of resistance informed strategies.We aim to highlight :1. Novel tools and strategies that move beyond single insecticide reliance, including next generation LLINs, improved IRS formulations, larval source management, genetic and biological control approaches, and integrated vector management. Studies linking product performance to local entomological and epidemiological outcomes, as well as cost effectiveness and scalability, are particularly welcome.2. Enhanced resistance monitoring and surveillance using improved bioassays, synergist and dose–response tests, and high throughput molecular or genomic tools, ideally integrated with routine health information and geospatial decision support systems.3. Mechanistic studies of target site, metabolic and behavioural resistance, and of changes in vector species composition or behaviour under intervention pressure, especially where linked to field phenotypes and operational control failure.Finally, we invite work on how resistance and fitness data inform product choice, rotations, targeting, economics and health system readiness, across study designs from lab to real world implementation. Topic editors: Magellan Tchouakui, Sulaiman S Ibrahim, Emmanuel ELANGA-NDILLE Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77963/insecticide-resistance-management-in-malaria-vectors