Abstract
ObjectiveTo explore ways of controlling Chrysomya putoria, the African latrine fly, in pit latrines. As pit latrines are a major source of these flies, eliminating these important breeding sites is likely to reduce village fly populations, and may reduce the spread of diarrhoeal pathogens.MethodsWe treated 24 latrines in a Gambian village: six each with (i) pyriproxyfen, an insect juvenile hormone mimic formulated as Sumilarv® 0.5G, a 0.5% pyriproxyfen granule, (ii) expanded polystyrene beads (EPB), (iii) local soap or (iv) no treatment as controls. Flies were collected using exit traps placed over the drop holes, weekly for five weeks. In a separate study, we tested whether latrines also function as efficient flytraps using the faecal odours as attractants. We constructed six pit latrines each with a built-in flytrap and tested their catching efficiency compared to six fish-baited box traps positioned 10 m from the latrine. Focus group discussions conducted afterwards assessed the acceptability of the flytrap latrines.ResultsNumbers of emerging C. putoria were reduced by 96.0% (95% CIs: 94.5–97.2%) 4–5 weeks after treatment with pyriproxyfen; by 64.2% (95% CIs: 51.8–73.5%) after treatment with local soap; by 41.3% (95% CIs = 24.0–54.7%) after treatment with EPB 3–5 weeks after treatment. Flytraps placed on latrines collected C. putoria and were deemed acceptable to local communities.ConclusionsSumilarv 0.5G shows promise as a chemical control agent, whilst odour-baited latrine traps may prove a useful method of non-chemical fly control. Both methods warrant further development to reduce fly production from pit latrines. A combination of interventions may prove effective for the control of latrine flies and the diseases they transmit.
Highlights
Pit latrines are common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF/WHO 2012)
In The Gambia, an average pit latrine produces over 100,000 C. putoria annually (Emerson et al 2005), many of which are contaminated with enterovirulent pathogens (Lindsay et al 2012)
Of the 2050 insects collected from latrines, 96.83% were C. putoria (n = 1985), 2.68% were Musca domestica (n = 55), 0.39% were Musca sorbens (n = 8) and 0.10% (n = 2) were Sarcophaga spp
Summary
Pit latrines are common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF/WHO 2012) Whilst they are preferable to open defaecation, latrines can produce prodigious numbers of flies, Chrysomya putoria, the African latrine blowfly (Laurence 1988; Emerson et al 2005). Whilst there are many ways of controlling flies (Rozendaal 1997), we know of only one design for controlling C. putoria: the ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine (Morgan 1977). This latrine has a small building constructed over a pit latrine with a tall ventilation pipe releasing odours from the pit.
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