Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Ernest Ekong

Abstract

In recent years mosquito-borne diseases have reemerged, largely because of pesticide resistance. The mosquitoes develop resistance to pesticides because of broad and repeated uses of pesticides. Preventing the development of pesticide resistance requires proper understanding of the environmental factors potentially associated with the development of the resistance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental factors associated with the resistance to pesticides by the Culex mosquitoes. This correlational study included the analysis of archived data samples (N = 29,794) from the Field Cage Tests results conducted between 2013 and 2017 by a large county public health department. The compartmental model was used to help understand and interpret study findings. To examine the associations between the independent variables (i.e., wind speed, temperature, humidity, time, month, and weather conditions) and the dependent variable (i.e., pesticide resistance), chi-square and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. The results showed that the odds of mosquitoes developing resistance were 2.1 times higher during high temperatures than at low temperatures [x2(1) = 346.5, p = .000]; the resistance was 1.5 times higher during high humidity than in low humidity [x2(1) = 7.23, p = .007]; and the odds of mosquitoes developing resistance to pesticides in August were 3 times higher than when sprayed in June or July [x2 (2) = 702.606, p = .000]. Study findings may be used to help with the development of more effective methods for vector control thereby reducing the numbers of nuisance and disease-carrying mosquitoes along with a possible reduction in the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases and related human morbidity and mortality.

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