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Integrated vector management: controlling malaria and trypanosomiasis with insecticide-treated cattle

Published by:
Publication date
31/03/2006
Language:
English
Type of Publication:
Other
Focus Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Focus Topic:
Health & Diseases
Type of Risk:
Biological & environmental
Type of Risk Managment Option:
Risk reduction/mitigation
Commodity:
Livestock
Source
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Outputs/AnimalHealth/R8214_PCS.pdf
Author
Torr, S.

In Africa, there are 250–450 million cases of malaria per year, and the annual economic losses associated with this are estimated to be ~ $US 2 billion. Some 10 million km2 of the malaria-affected regions of sub-Saharan Africa are also infested with tsetse flies which transmit trypanosomiasis, a complex of diseases affecting the health and productivity of humans and livestock, which has been estimated to cost Africa $US 4.5 billion a year. The use of insecticide-treated cattle to control tsetse is an increasingly important means of controlling trypanosomiasis, especially for poorer livestock owners. In the more arid, tsetse-affected regions of east and southern Africa, the main vector of malaria is Anopheles arabiensis, which obtains a significant proportion of its bloodmeals from cattle. Theoretical evidence suggests that in areas where malaria is transmitted by this vector, the insecticidal treatment of cattle could reduce malaria incidence.