Abstract
BackgroundIn Chad, several species of tsetse flies (Genus: Glossina ) transmit African animal trypanosomoses (AAT), which represents a major obstacle to cattle rearing, and sleeping sickness, which impacts public health. After the failure of past interventions to eradicate tsetse, the government of Chad is now looking for other approaches that integrate cost-effective intervention techniques, which can be applied by the stake holders to control tsetse-transmitted trypanosomoses in a sustainable manner. The present study thus attempted to assess the efficacy of restricted application of insecticides to cattle leg extremities using footbaths for controlling Glossina m. submorsitans, G . tachinoides and G . f . fuscipes in southern Chad.Methodology/Principal FindingsTwo sites were included, one close to the historical human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) focus of Moundou and the other to the active foci of Bodo and Moissala. At both sites, a treated and an untreated herd were compared. In the treatment sites, cattle were treated on a regular basis using a formulation of deltamethrin 0.005% (67 to 98 cattle were treated in one of the sites and 88 to 102 in the other one). For each herd, tsetse densities were monthly monitored using 7 biconical traps set along the river and beside the cattle pen from February to December 2009. The impact of footbath treatment on tsetse populations was strong (p < 10-3) with a reduction of 80% in total tsetse catches by the end of the 6-month footbath treatment.Conclusions/SignificanceThe impact of footbath treatment as a vector control tool within an integrated strategy to manage AAT and HAT is discussed in the framework of the “One Health” concept. Like other techniques based on the treatment of cattle, this technology should be used under controlled conditions, in order to avoid the development of insecticide and acaricide resistance in tsetse and tick populations, respectively.
Highlights
In Chad, agriculture accounts for over 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), corresponding to 10 billion US$ [1], and provides employment to 65% of the economically active population [2]
Even though the preferred feeding sites of G. f. fuscipes have not been studied, it is likely that the legs are a predilection feeding site for most tsetse species because that location provides the flies a means to evade defence behaviors of cattle
Results are in agreement with those obtained using footbath treatments against G. p. gambiensis, G. tachinoides and G. m. submorsitans in Burkina Faso [14,16,30], and in Zimbabwe using partial spraying against G. pallidipes and G. m. morsitans [15]
Summary
In Chad, agriculture accounts for over 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), corresponding to 10 billion US$ [1], and provides employment to 65% of the economically active population [2]. African animal trypanosomoses (AAT), a group of parasitic diseases transmitted by tsetse flies (Genus: Glossina), represents one of the major obstacles to the development of more productive farming systems. In Chad, several species of tsetse flies (Genus: Glossina) transmit African animal trypanosomoses (AAT), which represents a major obstacle to cattle rearing, and sleeping sickness, which impacts public health. Methodology/Principal Findings: Two sites were included, one close to the historical human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) focus of Moundou and the other to the active foci of Bodo and Moissala. At both sites, a treated and an untreated herd were compared. Like other techniques based on the treatment of cattle, this technology should be used under controlled conditions, in order to avoid the development of insecticide and acaricide resistance in tsetse and tick populations, respectively
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