Abstract
BackgroundTsetse flies and trypanosomiasis are among several factors that constrain livestock development in Tanzania. Over the years Rufiji District was excluded from livestock production owing to tsetse fly infestation, however, a few years ago there was an influx of livestock following evictions aimed at conserving the Usangu wetlands.MethodsA study was conducted to determine the efficiency of available traps for catching tsetse flies, Glossina species infesting the area, their infection rates and Trypanosoma species circulating in the area. Trapping was conducted during the semi dry season for a total of 30 days (ten days each month) during the onset of the dry season of May - July 2009. Harvested flies after every 24 hours were dissected and examined under a light microscope for trypanosome infections and whole fly DNA was extracted from 82 flies and analyzed for trypanosomes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using different sets of primers.ResultsThe proportions of total tsetse catches per trap were in the following decreasing order S3 (33%), H-Trap (27%), Pyramidal (19%), sticky panel (11%) and biconical trap (10%). Of the 1200 trapped flies, 75.6% were identified as Glossina pallidipes, 11.7% as G. brevipalpis, 9.6% as G. austeni and 3.0% G. morsitans morsitans. Dissections revealed the overall infection rate of 6.6% (13/197). Whole DNA was extracted from 82 tsetse flies and the prevalence of trypanosomes circulating in the area in descending order was 92.7% (76/82) for T. simiae; 70.7% (58/82) for T. brucei types; 48.8% (40/82) for the T. vivax types and 32.9% (27/82) for the T. congolense types as determined by PCR. All trypanosome types were found in all tsetse species analysed except for the T. congolense types, which were absent in G. m. morsitans. None of the T. brucei positive samples contained human infective trypanosomes by SRA - PCR testConclusionAll tsetse species found in Rufiji are biologically important in the transmission of animal trypanosomiasis and the absence of T. congolense in G. m. morsitans could be a matter of chance only. Therefore, plans for control should consider all tsetse species.
Highlights
Tsetse flies and trypanosomiasis are among several factors that constrain livestock development in Tanzania
In Tanzania, tsetse-borne diseases, and in particular bovine trypanosomiasis, which is one of the two most important diseases that are responsible for reduced livestock productivity and together with tick-borne diseases they are responsible for 75% of the morbidities and mortalities in cattle [2]
The intention was to determine trypanosome infection by Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Figure 3); due to high prevalence of mixed infection it was decided to use species specific primers in order to identify the exact trypanosome species circulating in the area; by bearing in mind that this was Entomology surveys: Tsetse composition and distribution A total of 1200 flies were trapped during this study and four tsetse species were identified as Glossina pallidipes, G. brevipalpis, G. m. morsitans and G. austeni
Summary
Tsetse flies and trypanosomiasis are among several factors that constrain livestock development in Tanzania. Over the years Rufiji District was excluded from livestock production owing to tsetse fly infestation, a few years ago there was an influx of livestock following evictions aimed at conserving the Usangu wetlands. In Tanzania, tsetse-borne diseases, and in particular bovine trypanosomiasis, which is one of the two most important diseases that are responsible for reduced livestock productivity and together with tick-borne diseases they are responsible for 75% of the morbidities and mortalities in cattle [2]. In early 2007, the country saw a rapid increase in the number of livestock settled in Rufiji district, of the Coastal Region of Tanzania, following the evacuation of livestock from Usangu and Ihefu areas which were declared conservation areas and are the key water sources for hydroelectric power generation [4]. Animal populations in Rufiji district increased rapidly as a result of this eviction from the wetland sources from 20,000 livestock in 2005/2006 to about 140,000 by mid 2008/2009
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