An “Aedes aegypti” mosquito pictured at the Department of Medical Entomology at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo. Photo: Shinji Kasai via AFP
Asia’s super-resistant mutant mosquitoes swat away insecticides: ‘we have to think of a solution’
- A team of Japanese scientists found mutations in mosquitoes from Cambodia and Vietnam that make some virtually impervious to popular insecticides
- It’s sparked concern that new control methods need to be found before the mutations spread to mosquitoes elsewhere in the region – and the wider world
An “Aedes aegypti” mosquito pictured at the Department of Medical Entomology at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo. Photo: Shinji Kasai via AFP