An evaluation of African animal trypanosomiasis control strategies in remote communities of Eastern Zambia.

Communities living in African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) endemic areas of Zambia use several control strategies to protect their livestock from the devastating effects of trypanosomiasis. Several studies have reported the effectiveness of trypanosomiasis control strategies based on retrospective data. In this study, we assessed incidence rates of AAT in cattle ( = 227) using a prospective cohort study comprising 4 treatment groups, i.

The COMBAT project: controlling and progressively minimizing the burden of vector-borne animal trypanosomosis in Africa.

Vector-borne diseases affecting livestock have serious impacts in Africa. Trypanosomosis is caused by parasites transmitted by tsetse flies and other blood-sucking . The animal form of the disease is a scourge for African livestock keepers, is already present in Latin America and Asia, and has the potential to spread further.

Policy and Linkages in the Application of a One Health System for Reporting and Controlling African Trypanosomiasis and Other Zoonotic Diseases in Zambia.

The capacity to detect, control and manage emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases in Africa has been limited by a lack of utilisation of available reporting structures and policies to support programmes at national and local levels. This study explored the impact of the Zambian government policies on animal and human disease reporting and management and on One Health opportunities. An in-depth review and analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the existing policies and reporting structures in the departments responsible for Veterinary Services, Health, and Wildlife, was conducted.

Effect of wing length on the prevalence of trypanosomes in Glossina morsitans morsitans in eastern Zambia.

Background: Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) transmit trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in livestock). Several studies have indicated that age, sex, site of capture, starvation and microbiome symbionts, among others, are important factors that influence trypanosome infection in tsetse flies. However, reasons for a higher infection rate in females than in males still largely remain unknown.

Human-associated scarcity of hosts for tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) is related to an increase in prevalence of trypanosome infection in flies in north-eastern Zambia.

Occurrence of nutritional stress (due to depletion of fat reserves) in tsetse flies, associated with inadequate levels of access to blood meals, enhances susceptibility of the flies to trypanosome infection. Thus, in a tsetse-infested area, a spatial gradient of reducing tsetse habitat quality is potentially a gradient of increasing prospects for occurrence of stress in tsetse flies. This study investigated prevalence of trypanosome infection in Glossina morsitans morsitans and G.

Challenges in the Diagnostic Performance of Parasitological and Molecular Tests in the Surveillance of African Trypanosomiasis in Eastern Zambia.

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) control programs rely on active case detection through the screening of animals reared in disease endemic areas. This study compared the application of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microscopy in the detection of trypanosomes in cattle blood in Mambwe, a rural district in eastern Zambia Blood samples were collected from 227 cattle and tested for infection with trypanosomes using microscopy and Ribosomal RNA Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS)-PCR. Microscopy on the buffy coat detected 17 cases, whilst thin and thick smears detected 26 cases and 28 cases, respectively.

Effects of Human Settlements and Spatial Distribution of Wing Vein Length, Wing Fray Categories and Hunger Stages in Glossina morsitans morsitans (Diptera: Glossinidae) and Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Glossinidae) in Areas Devoid of Cattle in North-Eastern Zambia.

The effect of human-associated habitat degradation on tsetse populations is well established. However, more insights are needed into how gradual human encroachment into tsetse fly belts affect tsetse populations. This study investigated how wing vein length, wing fray categories, and hunger stages, taken as indicators of body size, age, and levels of access to hosts, respectively, in Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood (Diptera: Glossinidae) and Glossina pallidipes Austen (Diptera: Glossinidae), varied along a transect from the edge into inner parts of the tsetse belt, in sites that had human settlement either concentrated at the edge of belt or evenly distributed along transect line, in north-eastern Zambia.

Insights into the Control and Management of Human and Bovine African Trypanosomiasis in Zambia between 2009 and 2019-A Review.

Tsetse transmitted trypanosomiasis is a fatal disease commonly known as in cattle and sleeping sickness in humans. The disease threatens food security and has severe economic impact in Africa including most parts of Zambia. The level of effectiveness of commonly used African trypanosomiasis control methods has been reported in several studies.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Glossina morsitans morsitans in the active foci of human African trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Malawi.

The tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans, is a significant problem in Zambia and Malawi. It is the vector for the human infective parasite Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which causes human African trypanosomiasis, and various Trypanosoma species, which cause African animal trypanosomiasis. Understanding the genetic diversity and population structure of G.

Integrated cost-benefit analysis of tsetse control and herd productivity to inform control programs for animal African trypanosomiasis.

Background: Animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) and its tsetse vector are responsible for annual losses estimated in billions of US dollars ($). Recent years have seen the implementation of a series of multinational interventions. However, actors of AAT control face complex resource allocation decisions due to the geographical range of AAT, diversity of ecological and livestock systems, and range of control methods available.