Insecticide resistance is threatening the effectiveness of insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor insecticide sprays to control adult mosquito vectors, and so more sustainable integrated management strategies that use optimal suites of control tactics are needed. These are the arguments of Willem Takken from the Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands and colleagues in this week's PLoS Medicine .
Experience in agriculture suggests that such integrated approaches can provide more effective and durable pest management, say the authors, which will require increased investment in research and translational science. Failure to act risks a resurgence of malaria and erosion of community support and donor commitment, argue the authors.
Funding: This essay was supported in part by the Research and Policy for Infectious Disease Dynamics (RAPIDD) program and by Wageningen University through a travel grant to WT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Thomas MB, Godfray HCJ, Read AF, van den Berg H, Tabashnik BE, et al. (2012) Lessons from Agriculture for the Sustainable Management of Malaria Vectors. PLoS Med 9(7): e1001262. doi:10.1371/ journal.pmed.1001262
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PLOS Medicine