Background: The detection of insecticide resistance in natural populations of Anopheles vectors is absolutely necessary for malaria control. CDC bottle bioassay as a new tools has been employed for detecting the insecticide resistance. For a limit number of mosquito vectors, diagnostic doses and diagnostic times for some insecticides have already been deter­mined using this new assay. For the first time in the area, susceptibility levels of Anopheles stephensi was done with DDT, deltamethrin, and bendiocarb using CDC bottle bioassay and compared results with WHO standard test method. Methods: Anopheles stephensi were collected in larvae stage from the cisterns of drinking water in Chabahar port which considered as old malaria foci, Sistan and Baluchistan province. The field collected larvae were colonized at the insectary of School of Public Health (SPH), Tehran University of Medical Science. The susceptibility tests were carried out on sugar fed female mosquitoes aged 2–3 days, against DDT 4%, bendiocarb 1% and deltamethrin 0.05% using WHO and CDC susceptibility methods. The mortality and knockdown rates, as well as the parameters of regression analysis, includ­ing LT50 and LT90, was calculated separately for the WHO and CDC methods.  Results: The 24h mortality rates of An. stephensi were 28.6% and 25.6% for DDT, 60.8% and 64.6% for bendiocarb and 100% for deltamethrin using both WHO and CDC assay at 30 and 60min respectively. The 50% lethal times (LT50) were estimated 44.9 and 66.2min, 38.9 and 81.8min and 0.7 and 15.0min respectively using both WHO and CDC susceptibility tests. Conclusion: The similar results of susceptibility levels were shown for DDT, bendiocarb and deltamethrin. The lethal times (LT50) showed significant difference using both WHO and CDC bioassay methods.

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It is recommended that a preliminary survey conducted on resistance level of Anopheles vectors before the distribution of Olyset Plus in malaria endemic communities.

Abstract. Akbari M, Rafinejad J, Hanafi-Bojd AA, Aivazi AA, Biglarian A, Sheikhi S, Shavali Z, Akbarzadeh K. 2020. Human myiasis survey in Ilam Province, Southwest of Iran. Nusantara Bioscience 12: 143-147. Myiasis is the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae, which at least for a period. Ilam Province of Iran is one of the most important animal husbandry areas, especially nomadic, in Iran. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of myiasis in shepherds in Ilam Province. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the shepherds in Ilam Province, western Iran. Out of the 11 counties in Ilam Province, 6 were randomly chosen from three different climates for this study. A questionnaire was used by a trained interviewer to obtain the information from subjects. The disease has been seen in spring, summer, and autumn seasons. About 94.1% of people have been infested at least once. Pharyngeal myiasis had the highest prevalence with 58.3%. Itchy, painful throat, sneeze, cough, and headache were common symptoms. About 85.1% of people described the symptoms of the disease as severe and very severe. About 75.4% stated that the duration of the disease was more than 5 days. According to the results of the study, it was found that the prevalence of myiasis among shepherds in the Ilam Province is high and it is necessary to take appropriate measures to control the disease and increase health literacy.

Abstract. Akbari M, Rafinejad J, Fazeli-Dinan M, Aivazi AA, Jalilian A, Sheikhi S, Akbarzadeh K. 2023. Species diversity of medically important necrophagous flies in Southwest Iran. Biodiversitas 24: 1467-1472. Species diversity of medically important necrophagous flies in Southwest Iran. Biodiversitas 24: 1467-1472. The insects are the most successful group in the phylum Arthropoda. Flies are among the most diverse group of insects and organisms. Flies can affect human health in many ways, such as the transmission of a wide range of pathogens and myiasis. Species diversity is the middle level of the hierarchical system of biodiversity. Flies, like other insects, are sensitive to biotic and abiotic factors, and their biodiversity will change under different climatic conditions. This study was performed in Ilam province, in southwest Iran. Two methods were used for collecting the flies, including bottle traps and insect nets. Fly collections were done monthly at each collection site for a year, and to identify the trapped flies, reliable identification keys were used. Calculation of fly species diversity indices was done based on the Shannon-Wiener index, species dominance based on the Simpson dominance index, species richness employing the Margalef's index, and evenness was performed based on the Evenness index. Different aspects of species diversity were calculated using PAST V.3 software. The dominance and abundance of necrophagous flies were higher in the south of the province. The highest evenness was related to the north of the province. A comparison of the diversity of necrophagous flies also indicated that the north of the province has a high species diversity. A significant and positive relationship between fly frequency and the temperature was seen. There was also a significant and negative relationship between the frequency of flies and humidity. The results of this study completed one of the research puzzles on the biodiversity of Iranian flies. The abundance and diversity of necrophagous flies were high in the Ilam province, especially in spring.