Overview

• New findings show that mosquitoes feeding on nitisinone-treated blood and then landing on sprayed surfaces absorb the drug through their tarsi and die
• Laboratory trials demonstrated lethal effects on Anopheles, Aedes and Culex species, including strains highly resistant to conventional insecticides
• Nitisinone disrupts bloodmeal digestion by inhibiting the HPPD enzyme in mosquitoes, a target not shared with existing vector control products
• Its approval for rare metabolic disorders provides a well-characterized safety profile that could accelerate regulatory pathways for public health use
• Researchers are now developing indoor spray and treated net formulations while investigating the unknown mechanism of cuticular uptake