Susceptibility of phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) collected in the field, to alpha-cypermethrin in four municipalities endemic to leishmaniasis.

Although the chemical control against leishmaniasis began in 1953 in Brazil, little information is available on how this strategy has affected populations of phlebotomine sandflies in the field. The objective of this study was to analyze the susceptibility profile of four populations of phlebotomine sandflies to the insecticide alpha-cypermethrin. Sandflies collected in field in four Brazilian municipalities were evaluated using CDC bottles in different concentrations of alpha-cypermethrin. A total of 1,186 phlebotomine sandflies were used in the bioassays. The LD50 ranged from 1.48 to 2.57 ug/mL in the field populations. For a dose of 5 ug/mL of alpha-cypermethrin, the LT50 and LT95 ranged from 17.9 to 27.5 minutes, and LT95 from 39.7 to 61.5 minutes, respectively. All the populations studied were highly susceptible to the insecticide alpha-cypermethrin. Routine studies are needed to detect changes in sandflies susceptibility to insecticides.