Distribution of species and kdr gene frequency among Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles coluzzii populations in five agricultural sites in Côte d'Ivoire

The resistance of Anopheles gambiae s.l. to insecticides constitutes a concern for the programs of malaria control because it can be an obstacle to effective control of the vectors. The follow-up of this resistance is a priority to work out strategies of management and to preserve the means of that major malaria vector control activities. The general objective of this study is to identify the species within An. gambiae s.l., and to determine the frequency of the Kdr gene in An. gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii in five agricultural sites in Ivory Coast: an urban site, two semirural sites (coffee-trees/cacao-trees, orchard) and two rural sites (rice site and a traditional village without agricultural insecticide). During this study, 2285 specimens of An. gambiae s.l. were analyzed for this purpose. An. gambiae s.s. (in the past called molecular form S) and An. coluzzii (in the past called molecular form M) were the only species of the complex An. gambiae identified in all the sites. The frequency of the Kdr mutation varied from 0.37 in the site without agricultural insecticide to 0.95 in the urban site where there is an intense use of insecticides. Three areas of these species distribution were observed: an area where the species An. gambiae s.s. is dominant (sites located in savanna), an area with predominance of An. coluzzii (in the southern forested area) and an intermediate area where the two species were in a same proportion (pre-forested site).The Kdr mutation was identified in the two species in all the sites in savanna and forest, except in the site without agricultural insecticide where only An. gambiae was resistant. It shows the increase of the receptive potential of An. gambiae s.l. with respect to the Kdr gene and the extension of the resistance to insecticide of this species in Ivory Coast.