Baited-boats: an innovative way to control riverine tsetse, vectors of sleeping sickness in West Africa.
BACKGROUND
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is an important neglected tropical disease caused by Trypanosoma spp. parasites transmitted by species of tsetse fly (Glossina spp). The most important vectors of HAT are riverine tsetse and these can be controlled by attracting them to stationary baits such as insecticide-impregnated traps or targets deployed along the banks of rivers. However, the geographical nature of some riverine habitats, particularly mangroves but also extensive lake and river networks, makes deployment of baits difficult and limits their efficacy. It is known that tsetse are attracted by the movement of their hosts. Our hypothesis was that mounting a target on canoes typically used in Africa ('pirogues') would produce an effective means of attracting-and-killing riverine tsetse in extensive wetland habitats.


METHODS
In Folonzo, southern Burkina Faso, studies were made of the numbers of tsetse attracted to a target (75 × 50 cm) of blue cloth and netting mounted on a pirogue moving along a river, versus the same target placed on the riverbank. The targets were covered with a sticky film which caught tsetse as they contacted the target.


RESULTS
The pirogue-mounted target caught twice as many G. tachinoides and G. p. gambiensis, and 8 times more G. morsitans submorsitans than the stationary one (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Pirogues are common vehicle for navigating the rivers, lakes and swamps of West Africa. The demonstration that tsetse can be attracted to targets mounted on such boats suggests that pirogues might provide a cost-effective and convenient platform for deploying targets to control tsetse in the mangrove systems of West Africa where HAT persists. Further studies to assess the impact of pirogue-mounted targets on tsetse populations in HAT foci and the protective value of targets for pirogue passengers are recommended.
Centre International de Recherche - Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. jbrayaisse@hotmail.com.
Jean-Baptiste
JB
Rayaisse
Centre International de Recherche - Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. salouernest@gmail.com.
Ernest
E
Salou
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 177 IRD-CIRAD INTERTRYP, CIRDES, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. fabrice.courtin@ird.fr.
Fabrice
F
Courtin
Centre International de Recherche - Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. wilfridyoni@gmail.com.
Wilfrid
W
Yoni
Centre International de Recherche - Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. issiakabarry12@gmail.com.
Issiaka
I
Barry
Centre International de Recherche - Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. dofini_fabien2000@yahoo.fr.
Fabien
F
Dofini
Programme National de Lutte contre la Trypanosomiase Humaine (PNLTHA), Conakry, Guinea. moise.kagbadouno@gmail.com.
Moise
M
Kagbadouno
Programme National de Lutte contre la Trypanosomiase Humaine (PNLTHA), Conakry, Guinea. mamadycamarafr@yahoo.fr.
Mamadou
M
Camara
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK. steve.torr@lstmed.ac.uk.|Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. steve.torr@lstmed.ac.uk.
Stephen J
SJ
Torr
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 177 IRD-CIRAD INTERTRYP, Montpellier, France. philippe.solano@ird.fr.
Philippe
P
Solano
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002050:Burkina Faso; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060106:Lakes; D008297:Male; D045483:Rivers; D012767:Ships; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D014370:Tsetse Flies / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D053833:Wetlands
D007306:Insecticides