Factors influencing the prevalence of trypanosome infection of Glossina pallidipes on the Ruvu flood plain of Eastern Tanzania.
We report the pattern of infection of Glossina pallidipes with Trypanosoma vivax and T. congolense at a site in the Coast region of eastern Tanzania, studied between November 1993 and December 1994. Of the 2315 flies dissected 114 (4.9%) were T. congolense positive, 77 (3.3%) were T. vivax positive and 2 (0.1%) were T. brucei positive. Fly age was determined by the pteridine fluorescence method. Prevalence of infection was most strongly affected by month and the linear effect of age with the interaction of month and age having an effect for T. congolense-type infections. Sex and sex by month also have some predictive capacity when data for T. congolense and T. vivax-type infections are combined. In contrast to other similar studies our results suggest that the infection rate is non-linearly related to age of the tsetse fly, with older flies having progressively more chance of infection. The potential biological factors underpinning these interactions are discussed.
Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Research Institute, Tanga, Tanzania.
A R
AR
Msangi
C J
CJ
Whitaker
M J
MJ
Lehane
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D011891:Rain; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013636:Tanzania; D013696:Temperature; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000502:physiology; D014348:Trypanosoma congolense / Q000502:physiology*; D016689:Trypanosoma vivax / Q000502:physiology*; D014370:Tsetse Flies / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology