Control of human African trypanosomiasis: trap and odour preference of tsetse flies (Glossina morsitans submorsitans) in the upper Didessa river valley of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of the endemic countries for Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) as over 100,000 people are at risk of having the disease. The control of HAT using odour preference of tsetse flies (Glossina morsitans submorsitans) was studied in upper Didessa river valley of Ethiopia. No information exists on the effectiveness of attractants for these species of tsetse flies in Ethiopia. Three attractants and their combinations namely: acetone, octenol, cow urine, acetone + octenol, acetone + octenol + cow urine, were evaluated using biconical and NGU traps for their efficacy as a first step in developing a sustainable community-based HAT control initiative. The biconical traps baited with acetone, octenol or cow urine, or when combined, were more effective in catching G. m. submorsitans than the NGU traps (P < 0.05). However, the NGU traps caught more female tsetse flies than the biconical traps (P < 0.05). The acetone, octenol and cow urine combination was the most effective in attracting tsetse flies in both the biconical and NGU traps. Acetone was the best attractant while octenol was the least effective. Cow urine showed great promise for possible use in community-based HAT control activities, especially urine that has been kept for several days. The use of cow urine in HAT control in Ethiopia is likely to succeed in the future because of its sustainability.

Human health improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa through integrated management of arthropod transmitted diseases and natural resources.

A concept of an ecosystem approach to human health improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa is presented here. Three factors mainly affect the physical condition of the human body: the abiotic environment, vector-transmitted diseases, and natural resources. Our concept relies on ecological principles embedded in a social context and identifies three sets of subsystems for study and management: human disease subsystems, natural resource subsystems, and decision-support subsystems. To control human diseases and to secure food from resource subsystems including livestock or crops, integrated preventive approaches are preferred over exclusively curative and sectorial approaches. Environmental sustainability - the basis for managing matter and water flows - contributes to a healthy human environment and constitutes the basis for social sustainability. For planning and implementation of the human health improvement scheme, participatory decision-support subsystems adapted to the local conditions need to be designed through institutional arrangements. The applicability of this scheme is demonstrated in urban and rural Ethiopia.