Abstract
The number of dengue cases has increased drastically the state of Paraná since 1995 without a consistent explanation. In order to contribute to this subject, the susceptibility of
Introduction
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 96 million people are infected by dengue virus every year, 550 thousand of which are hospitalized and about 20 thousand die as consequence of the disease (Funasa 2002; Guzman
In Brazil, the 48.3% of all dengue cases occurs in the main cities in the northeast region. The southeast region is responsible for 37.2%, the Mid-West region 7.6%, the North region, 5.7% and the South region 1.2% of the cases. Most are reported during the hot months, occurring mainly in two periods during the first semester: in the Southeast, Mid-west and South regions during the first three months and in the Northeast region during the following three months, indicating an established seasonality (Câmara
Many strategies are applied to control the increment of dengue cases in Brazil, ranging from environmental management and community educational programs to local vector control with chemical and biological products. However, the main method applied to control populations of
The "status" of susceptibility to insecticides is periodically evaluated in larval populations of
As advocated by MoReNAa, tests to detect loss of susceptibility to temephos should be conducted preferably in strategic places, especially in sentinel-municipalities with historical persistence of the disease. In the South region, Paraná is the single state with reported autochthonous cases where three municipalities have a continuous history of occurrences since 1995. Foz do Iguaçu, Maringá e Londrina (MS SVS 2005, 2007). However, there are no published historical records regarding the susceptibility levels in other municipalities with dengue cases.
An important aspect to be clarified is whether the progressive increase in dengue cases in new areas of the state of Paraná is related to chemical resistance to the insecticide temephos (Fig. 1). In this sense, it is necessary to start with the establishment of historical records on the susceptibility of temephos. In this way, could be addressed new approaches of the ecological, genetic and operational elements that contribute to understand at development of resistance in this region (Georghiou and Taylor 1986; Bisset 2002). Basically, it is necessary to initiate studies to establish a baseline of the current status of resistance in the State for further investigations and more precise studies on its biological and evolutionary interrelations. To do so, sampling must be extended to more strategic places, such as localities close to national and international borders and also increase the number of municipalities, including areas with high commercial and tourist flow that connect Paraná to Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Paraguay and Argentina. Consequently, it is expected that the development of resistance can be detected early in areas of occurrence of dengue, allowing effective and economic decisions regarding control procedures.
This study is intended to analyze the degree of susceptibility to temephos of populations of
Material and methods
Sampling.
In partnership with the "Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de Paraná", oviposition traps (ovitraps) were set up with a 500 mL hay solution at 10% (Funasa 2002). In each ovitrap, a "eucatex™ palette was placed for the oviposition of
Three or four ovitraps were placed randomly per area for 5 days in urban area peridomiciles (in residential neighborhoods and downtown) of the following municipalities with confirmed records of presence of dengue and/or

The main epidemic waves of 2003 and 2007 in Parana. Breai.
The ovitrap palettes with positive results were analyzed at Laboratório de Entomología Médica e Veterinária at Universidade Federal do Paraná (LEMV-UFPR). Eggs were later quantified under a dissecting microscope, individually placed in 770 mL cups of water with triturate cat food (Purina Cat Chow) (0.36 g/ cup) in order to induce hatching. The palettes were removed after 24 hours of immersion, in order to avoid decrease in water quality. The larvae were kept in these cups with approximately 1g of food per day until they reached the pupa stage and, in this phase, they were transferred to cages for the separation of the adults and identified as for sex and species in order to obtain strains of
Bioassays.
The insecticide temephos 90% technical grade (lot 002/2005) was obtained from Fersol Mairinque São Paulo. With the purpose of verifying the quality of temephos, a calibration of the chemical product was carried out with the susceptible reference lineage
Localities and periods of oviposition trap installation for Aedes acgypti. Brazil.
A diagnostic concentration (DC) was applied to qualitatively detect the presence of individuals resistant to the DC 0.0060 mg/L (determined at our laboratory, LEMV-UFPR), corresponding twices the CL99 (0.0030 mg/L) of the Rockefeller strain (WHO 1981; 1992; Lima
Criteria and statistical analysis.
Mortality responses to diagnostic concentration over 98% were considered susceptible; concentrations between 98-80% indicated moderate resistance and below 80%, resistance (Davidson and Zahar 1973). The resistance ratio (RR50 and RR95), as a quantitative indicator, was calculated comparing lethal concentrations (LC50, LC95) with Rock strain as follows: LC50 and 95 of locality/LC50 and 95 of Rock strain. Resistance levels are defined as low when lower than 5 times, medium when between 5 and 10, and high when higher than 10 (Mazzari and Georghiou 1995). In this study, we considered only RR 95 for the classification of resistance. The software Probit GW-Basic (Finney 1971) was used to determine the lethal concentrations LC50, 95, X2 test, slope and confidence interval (Cl). In order to detect statistical differences in oviposition and in the number of positive ovitraps installed in the municipalities of Maringá and Jacarezinho over a one-year period, a variance analysis for data with normal distribution (ANOVA) was applied. When significant differences were detected,
Results
Oviposition traps installed for the susceptibility tests.
Of the 355 ovitraps collected in Paraná, 160 were positive for immature specimens with a total of 6298 eggs, where Santa Mariana was the municipality with the highest ratio of oviposition and Guaira, the lowest. In Curitiba no positive ovitraps were detected. After eggs hatching, the species obtained were
Number of ovitraps, positivity index of the ovitrap (I.P.O.) and species in municipalities in Paraná State, Brazil.
Oviposition activity during one year in Maringá and Jacarezinho.
Maringá showed more positive palettes and eggs (N palettes = 119, N eggs = 7831) than Jacarezinho (N palettes = 113, N eggs = 4528), even though such values did not yield significant statistical differences for either eggs or positive ovitraps (F = 1.104, P = 0.304 and F = 0.03, P = 0.857), respectively. However, when considering the same variables in relation to the seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter), significant differences were observed (F = 4.48, P = 0.014). The Tukey HSD test confirmed that oviposition activity between the two municipalities decreased in winter (June, July and August), although the presence of
Bioassays evaluating diagnostic concentration, multiple concentrations and resistance rates.
The comparison of
Discussion
The diagnostic concentration established in the laboratory bioassays with

Number of positive palettes for Aedes spp. and the total number of eggs in the oviposition traps of Maringá (A) and Jacarerinho (B) from April 2005 to March 2006. In Jacarezinho traps were not installed in January and March for operational issues, Paraná, Brazil.
Morlality evalualion witl1 lhe diagnostic concentration of 0.0060 mg/L (cali bratcd with the Rockcfcller strnin) in populations of
±: Standard deviation. Values followed by the same letter are not significantly different (F = 15,68, P > 0.05
The slope of all the localities analyzed was lower compared to the susceptible strain (Rock), confirming a difference in the response to the insecticide and showing a loss of susceptibility as a consequence to the movement of higher concentrations of insecticide in the wild strain. The analysis indicates for Paraná the need of a systematic review of the traditional methods (insecticides) applied to the control of
In southern Brazil (States of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Río Grande do Sul), the number of reported cases of dengue amounts to only 1.2% of the whole country. This is a direct consequence of seasonal features which influence the vector's dynamics with a reduction in the natural population due to the area presents low temperatures (Câmara
On the other hand, considering the tropical characteristics of northern Paraná and the vector's adaptive capabilities, infestation ratios in this area could become similar to levels in places where the vector persists. This would suggest an augment of insecticide applications, consequently pushing resistance ratios to higher levels.
In the ovitraps installed in Maringá and Jacarezinho from April 2005 to March 2006, oviposition occurred practically without interruption, even in the periods of low temperatures reported during winter station. Thus, individual
In the future, a factor that may balance resistance ratios in Paraná with other States is gene flow, hereditary factors connected to dispersion and interbreeding among populations, as observed by Rawlins (1998). This must be specifically evaluated with genes that provide insecticide resistance in the South region. Even though some studies suggest huge differences among populations of
Generation used in the tests (F), lethal concentrations (mg/L), slope and resistance ratio of
All values of CL50-CL95, Slope and X2 are well adjusted with the Probit model P > 0.05.
Nevertheless, based on Costa-Ribeiro
The resistance ratios of
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
Jonny E Duque L. thanks CNPq for the scholarship granted during his Ph.D from 2004 to 2008. We wish to thank Secretaria Estadual de Saúde of Paraná and the research groups in Entomology for providing material for this study. To the researcher Maria de Lourdes da Graça Macoris of Superintendéncia de controle de Endemias- SUCEN, Marília (SP) and Dr. Denise Valle and Dr. José Bento Pereira Limaof Instituto de Biología do Exército at Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (RJ) for their helpful contribution in the bioassays. We are especially grateful to Denise Vale and José Bento Pereira Lima for the supply of temephos and the elucidation of doubts encountered during the course of this work.
