The impact of the rapid expansion of rubber plantations in South-East Asia on mosquito populations is uncertain. We compared the abundance and diversity of adult mosquitoes using human-baited traps in four typical rural habitats in northern Lao PDR: secondary forests, immature rubber plantations, mature rubber plantations, and villages. Generalized estimating equations were used to explore differences in mosquito abundance between habitats, and Simpson's diversity index was used to measure species diversity. Over nine months, 24,927 female mosquitoes were collected, including 51 species newly recorded in Lao PDR. A list of the 114 mosquito species identified is included. More mosquitoes, including vector species, were collected in the secondary forest than immature rubber plantations (rainy season, odds ratio [OR] 0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31-0.36; dry season, 0.46, 95% CI 0.41-0.51), mature rubber plantations (rainy season, OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.23-0.27; dry season, OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.22-0.28), and villages (rainy season, OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.12-0.14; dry season, 0.20, 95% CI 0.18-0.23). All habitats showed high species diversity (Simpson's indexes between 0.82-0.86) with vectors of dengue, Japanese encephalitis (JE), lymphatic filariasis, and malaria. In the secondary forests and rubber plantations, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), a dengue vector, was the dominant mosquito species, while in the villages, Culex vishnui (Theobald), a JE vector, was most common. This study has increased the overall knowledge of mosquito fauna in Lao PDR. The high abundance of Ae. albopictus in natural and man-made forests warrants concern, with vector control measures currently only implemented in cities and villages.

Monitoring insecticide resistance of Aedes albopictus is required for implementing effective dengue and chikungunya vector control in Thailand. The World Health Organization standard susceptibility test for adult mosquitoes was used to determine the baseline susceptibility of a pyrethroid-susceptible laboratory strain of Ae. albopictus to 5 different pyrethroids (deltamethrin, permethrin, bifenthrin, cypermethrin, and α-cypermethrin). Subsequently, the respective established diagnostic doses (0.026% deltamethrin, 1.024% permethrin, 0.570% bifenthrin, 0.237% cypermethrin, and 0.035% α-cypermethrin) were used to test field-collected Ae. albopictus from Rayong, Koh Chang, and Pong Nom Ron. As expected, the laboratory strain was completely susceptible to all pyrethroid insecticides at the established concentrations. Rayong mosquitoes were found to be highly susceptible to bifenthrin, cypermethrin, and α-cypermethrin. Koh Chang mosquitoes were susceptible to only deltamethrin and permethrin. Pong Nom Ron mosquitoes were resistant to all pyrethroids tested. Routine assessment of these baseline results should guide future resistance monitoring to pyrethroid insecticides in Ae. albopictus in Thailand.

Anopheles dirus females landing on humans inside experimental huts treated with residual applications of DDT or deltamethrin were observed during the wet season in Pu Teuy Village, Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand. Two identical experimental huts were constructed in the fashion of typical local rural Thai homes. Pretreatment (baseline) human-landing collections (HLC) in both huts showed an early evening peak of activity between 1900 and 2000 h with no significant difference in numbers of mosquitoes captured between huts over a period of 30 collection nights. During posttreatment HLC, female mosquitoes continued to show greater landing activity inside huts fitted with insecticide-treated panels during the first half of the evening compared with the second half. A greater number (proportion) of An. dirus females landed on humans in the hut treated with deltamethrin compared with DDT. Comparing pre- and posttreatment HLC, the DDT-treated hut showed a 79.4% decline in attempted blood feeding, whereas exposure to deltamethrin resulted in a 56.3% human-landing reduction. An odds ratio was performed to demonstrate the relative probability (risk) of mosquitoes entering and attempting to blood feed in the two treated huts compared with untreated control huts. Mosquitoes were approximately 0.47 times less likely to land on humans inside a DDT-treated hut compared with the deltamethrin-treated hut. Although both chemicals exerted strong excitatory responses, DDT appears to have a more pronounced and significant (P = 0.002) effect on behavior than deltamethrin, resulting in greater movement away from the insecticide source and thus potential reduction of blood-feeding activity.

Excito-repellency responses of 3 test populations, representing 2 sibling species within the Minimus Complex, Anopheles minimus and An. harrisoni, were characterized for contact irritant and noncontact repellent actions of chemicals during and after exposure to alpha-cypermethrin at half the recommended field (0.010 g/m2), the recommended field (0.020 g/m2), and double the recommended field concentration (0.040 g/m2), using an excito-repellency escape chamber system. Two field populations of An. minimus and An. harrisoni collected from the malaria-endemic areas in Tak and Kanchanuburi provinces in western Thailand, respectively, were tested along with a laboratory population of An. minimus maintained since 1993. Females of all 3 test populations rapidly escaped after direct contact with treated surfaces for each concentration. In general, increased escape responses in the An. minimus test populations were proportionate to increased insecticide dosages. The greatest escape response for An. harrisoni was observed at the operational field concentration of alpha-cypermethrin. The noncontact repellency response to alpha-cypermethrin was comparatively weak for all 3 test populations, but significantly different from each paired contact test and respective noncontact controls. We conclude that strong contact irritancy is a major action of alpha-cypermethrin, whereas noncontact repellency plays no role in the escape responses of 2 species in the Minimus Complex in Thailand.

Anopheles dirus females landing on humans inside experimental huts treated with residual applications of DDT or deltamethrin were observed during the wet season in Pu Teuy Village, Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand. Two identical experimental huts were constructed in the fashion of typical local rural Thai homes. Pretreatment (baseline) human-landing collections (HLC) in both huts showed an early evening peak of activity between 1900 and 2000 h with no significant difference in numbers of mosquitoes captured between huts over a period of 30 collection nights. During posttreatment HLC, female mosquitoes continued to show greater landing activity inside huts fitted with insecticide-treated panels during the first half of the evening compared with the second half. A greater number (proportion) of An. dirus females landed on humans in the hut treated with deltamethrin compared with DDT. Comparing pre- and posttreatment HLC, the DDT-treated hut showed a 79.4% decline in attempted blood feeding, whereas exposure to deltamethrin resulted in a 56.3% human-landing reduction. An odds ratio was performed to demonstrate the relative probability (risk) of mosquitoes entering and attempting to blood feed in the two treated huts compared with untreated control huts. Mosquitoes were approximately 0.47 times less likely to land on humans inside a DDT-treated hut compared with the deltamethrin-treated hut. Although both chemicals exerted strong excitatory responses, DDT appears to have a more pronounced and significant (P = 0.002) effect on behavior than deltamethrin, resulting in greater movement away from the insecticide source and thus potential reduction of blood-feeding activity.