DNA marker linked to resistance to insecticides found in malaria-carrying mosquito – CRID study.

This finding is the major outcome of a probe carried out by researchers of the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, CRID.

The results of the research were presented to the press by the CRID’s Executive Director, Prof Charles Wondji. The press conference took place Thursday February 5 at the CRID’s headquarters in Yaounde. 

This major milestone in the fight against malaria was achieved in collaboration with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, LSTM.

According to the renowned researcher, the mutation, found in the gene CYP6P3 (E205D), enables mosquitoes to break down insecticides more efficiently and reducing the effectiveness of standard and even PBO-treated bed nets.
“At the moment, preventing malaria relies mainly on using insecticide treated nets but mosquitoes have developed resistance against insecticide. Therefore, to properly manage the resistance and accelerate malaria elimination, we need to understand, in genetic terms, how mosquitoes have developed that ability to survive when they come into contact with insecticide treated nets,” Prof Wondji explained. 

Quizzed on how the study was conducted, the CRID boss said samples of the anopheles gambiae mosquitoes were collected from Noun Division of the West Region with the researchers mostly made up of Cameroonians working with state-of-the-art equipment at the CRID facilities. 

“We have what we call a sequencer that will sequence the human genomes that will allow us to track all the genetic variants that might impact several diseases. Before we needed to go to US or Europe to do it, but we can now do it from Cameroon,” Dr Wondji said. 

He added that: “We have also designed a simple molecular assay that will allow us now to track resistance and to find out where the resistance really is and what nets will be suitable in the places where we find the resistance”.

Thanks to the findings, government and its partners in the fight against malaria have been recommended on which bed nets are more suitable in the context of Cameroon.

While thanking the Ministry of Public Health for its support, the researcher stated CRID’s commitment to collaborate with the scientific community to strengthen evidence-based research activities to better inform which intervention tools should be implemented to eradicate malaria. 

Meanwhile, the finding underscores the urgency of monitoring resistance across species, as genetic exchange accelerates the spread of resistance and complicates malaria control strategies. It also demonstrates how fundamental research can lead to practical tools that safeguard human health. 

By providing malaria control programmes with reliable diagnostics to detect resistance early, the work paves the way for more effective interventions and helps ensure that insecticide-based tools remain a cornerstone of malaria prevention.  

 
This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3699 of Monday February 09, 2026