From WTSP
March 17, 2021
FLORIDA, USA — A new study from the University of Florida found that mosquitoes that carry and transmit the Zika virus have shown resistance to insecticides designed specifically to prevent the spread of the disease. Researchers are calling the findings a threat to public health.
The chemicals found in the insecticide, known as pyrethroids, have been in use since the early 1960s. In Florida, researchers say they make up 90 percent of the insecticides used for mosquito control in the state.
Using a species of mosquito widely found throughout Florida, commonly known as the yellow fever mosquito, researchers found the insects who were resistant to pyrethoids were more likely to have an advanced infection of the Zika virus as well.