Evolution of insecticide resistance diagnostics in malaria vectors

Malaria control is reliant upon effective, programmatic-scale, anti-vector interventions. The widespread distribution of pyrethroid-treated bednets in sub-Saharan Africa has been a driver of morbidity and mortality reductions over the last decade. Unfortunately resistance to insecticides, and to pyrethroids in particular, is increasingly common in Anopheles malaria vectors, and is a major threat to continued control and future elimination. Here we argue that current methods to diagnose resistance often have limited utility and should be augmented or even partially-replaced by wider application of DNA markers.