Tsetsefly eradication stalls
Nov 28, 2004
A plan by scientists to eradicate tsetse flies using biological control has stalled. This is because out of the over $1m (about sh2b) needed for the plan, only sh67m was released in 2001.
By Kikonyogo Ngatya
A plan by scientists to eradicate tsetse flies using biological control has stalled. This is because out of the over $1m (about sh2b) needed for the plan, only sh67m was released in 2001.
As a result, tsetse fly population, especially in eastern Uganda, which had been reduced, has gone up. Sleeping sickness is now in Kaberamaido and Soroti districts, where it was never experienced before. Other districts include Tororo, Bugiri, Mukono and Iganga.
Dr Joseph Magona, the Cattle Diseases and Vectors Project coordinator at the Livestock Health Research Institute (LIRI), Tororo, said tsetse flies caused “serious economic loss†to the veterinary sector.
Over 50 per cent of land in the country is infested, with 40 per cent of the livestock grazing under “high challengeâ€. Tsetse flies spread sleeping sickness.
Scientists at LIRI wanted to release sterile male tsetse flies into the wild to mate with females. In this way, no off spring would be produced from the unfertilised eggs. Similar techniques have worked in Zanzibar, Botswana and Nigeria.
Scientists say this and other methods would greatly reduce tsetse flies.
Dr Charles Otim, the LIRI director, said the project was on course although it has “severe financial problems.†“The Government should quickly step in,†Otim said.
Experts say tsetse flies have a high multiplication rate. If only five of the flies were left in a square mile, they could breed very fast and their numbers could soar in just between two and three years.
Otim said with assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), some 21,000 seed stock flies had been acquired.
IAEA wants Uganda to fight tsetse flies.
A plan by scientists to eradicate tsetse flies using biological control has stalled. This is because out of the over $1m (about sh2b) needed for the plan, only sh67m was released in 2001.
As a result, tsetse fly population, especially in eastern Uganda, which had been reduced, has gone up. Sleeping sickness is now in Kaberamaido and Soroti districts, where it was never experienced before. Other districts include Tororo, Bugiri, Mukono and Iganga.
Dr Joseph Magona, the Cattle Diseases and Vectors Project coordinator at the Livestock Health Research Institute (LIRI), Tororo, said tsetse flies caused “serious economic loss†to the veterinary sector.
Over 50 per cent of land in the country is infested, with 40 per cent of the livestock grazing under “high challengeâ€. Tsetse flies spread sleeping sickness.
Scientists at LIRI wanted to release sterile male tsetse flies into the wild to mate with females. In this way, no off spring would be produced from the unfertilised eggs. Similar techniques have worked in Zanzibar, Botswana and Nigeria.
Scientists say this and other methods would greatly reduce tsetse flies.
Dr Charles Otim, the LIRI director, said the project was on course although it has “severe financial problems.†“The Government should quickly step in,†Otim said.
Experts say tsetse flies have a high multiplication rate. If only five of the flies were left in a square mile, they could breed very fast and their numbers could soar in just between two and three years.
Otim said with assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), some 21,000 seed stock flies had been acquired.
IAEA wants Uganda to fight tsetse flies.