The members of the genus Flavivirus are noteworthy, as they cause infectious diseases in humans, such as Zika, denguefever, yellow fever, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis. Due to the increased awareness of the public health risk posedby flavivirus-infected mosquitoes, mosquito collections were performed in six urban parks of South Korea, as the parksare designated for human recreation but also provide suitable habitats for mosquitoes. We examined the diversity andabundance of mosquito species and conducted molecular diagnostics for the detection of flavivirus infections. Monthlycollections were carried out in each park from March to August in 2017. A total of 4,851 mosquitoes (5 genera and13 species) were collected using BG-sentinel traps and then investigated for flavivirus infections. Pathogenic flavivirusinfections causing human diseases were not observed in the field-collected mosquitoes. However, insect-specific flavivirus(ISF) infections were detected in several mosquito pools. ISF has been previously known to enhance or suppress the replicationof medically important flaviviruses in co-infected mosquito cells. In this study, partial sequences of ISF were analyzed.However, further studies are needed in order to determine its genetic characterization and biological function in vivo.

Anopheles sinensis is an important vector for Plasmodium vivax and thus has been targeted with pyrethroids in Republic of Korea. Using the direct contact mortality bioassay, two field populations of An. sinensis from Ganghwa-gun and Goyang-si were characterized for their resistance to pyrethroids with RR ratio values (Resistant ratio to imidacloprid) of 125.6 to 203.8 folds and 80.0 to 120 folds, respectively. Genomic DNA was used for Allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) genotyping of the sodium channel genes to detect L1014S mutations. The homozygous susceptible Leu/Leu genotype in Ganghwa-gun and Goyang-si was 5.0% and 11.3% and the resistance genotypes were 95.0% and 88.7%, respectively. The homozygous Phe/Phe resistance genotype was the most prevalent as 35.4% in Ganghwa-gun and 44.0% in Goyang-si. Hence, this study suggests that malaria vector control programs should be prepared for the management of pyrethroid insecticide resistance.

Anopheles sinensis is an important vector for Plasmodium vivax and thus has been targeted with pyrethroids in Republic of Korea. Using the direct contact mortality bioassay, two field populations of An. sinensis from Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun were characterized for their resistance to pyrethroids with RR ratio values (Resistant ratio to imidacloprid) of 96.8 to 167.2 folds and 34.2 to 98.4 folds, respectively. Genomic DNA was used for Allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) genotyping of the sodium channel genes to detect L1014S mutations. The homozygous susceptible Leu/Leu genotype in Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun was 3.3% and 37.1% and the resistance genotypes were 96.7% and 62.9%, respectively. The homozygous Phe/Phe resistance genotype was the most prevalent as 45.0% in Paju-si and 31.5% in Yeoncheon-gun. Hence, this study suggests that malaria vector control programs should be prepared for the management of pyrethroid insecticide resistance.