Two decades of insecticide resistance in Benin: a retrospective analysis of evolution and drivers

Several studies have been conducted in Benin over the past two decades on insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors. These studies, by various authors, lead to diverse and scattered data. The present paper provides a retrospective analysis of these data to assess the current state of insecticide resistance and its evolution over two decades. Phenotypic trends were compared to mechanisms of insecticide resistance, focusing on the pyrethroids target-site mutation at codon 1014 of the voltage-gated sodium channel and the overproduction of detoxification enzymes capable of neutralizing insecticides before reaching their target.

Data were collected from studies between 1996 and 1998 and from 2010 to 2024. For each selected study, the following information were extracted and organized in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet: study year, adherence to WHO insecticide susceptibility testing protocols, mosquito species tested, study site characteristics, insecticides assessed, data source, and resistance mechanisms identified. Municipalities with data gaps exceeding five consecutive years were excluded.

The earliest reported cases of insecticide resistance in Benin date back to 1963, involving organochlorines. Resistance to pyrethroids was first observed in 1999, initially limited in scope. However, from 2010 to 2024, resistance to all pyrethroids spread across all regions of Benin, reaching high levels. In some municipalities, mortality rates in Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) populations exposed to permethrin-treated papers fell below 10%. The frequency of the kdr L1014F mutation has mirrored phenotypic resistance trends, increasing from 10% homozygous resistant (kdr/kdr) individuals in 2011 to 90% in 2024 in the municipality of Allada. Detoxification enzymes, such as α-esterase, β-esterase, monooxygenase and glutathione S-transferase showed low, but steadily increasing activity between 2015 and 2024. Resistance to bendiocarb, first reported in 2012, has shown minimal progression, while resistance to pirimiphos methyl has been observed in some municipalities since 2022.

First observed with organochlorines around the 1960s, and later with pyrethroids in 1999, insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors has continued to intensify. Over the last 20 years, it has gradually expanded, now affecting all ecological environments in Benin. In this context, the National Malaria Control Programme should prioritize the use of new mosquito nets for future vector control campaigns in Benin.