Tsetse flies (Genus: Glossina) occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where they transmit trypanosomosis, a group of parasitic diseases that affect both animals and humans. Tsetse and trypanosomosis are a constant drain on the resources of poor African livestock keepers and they also impose a public health burden. Comprehensive data on the geographic distribution of tsetse flies is crucial to design evidence-based and cost-effective strategies against animal trypanosomoses, and it is also important in eliminating the human form of the disease. Despite this, the latest maps of tsetse distribution in Africa were published several decades ago. The present publication provides an update on the geographical distribution of tsetse flies in Africa. A total of 669 scientific publications spanning a period of 31 years (1990–2020) provided the input data, and almost 7 400 distinct geographical locations were mapped. Tsetse flies were recorded from a maximum latitude of 15° North in Senegal, to a minimum of 28.5° South in South Africa. Data coverage is uneven, and no eligible publication was found for Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone or Somalia. A dearth of information also affects a few other countries, such as Angola, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. At the level of tsetse species, relatively abundant data were identified for the species of major veterinary and public health importance, especially of the riverine (palpalis) and savannah (morsitans) groups. By contrast, limited information is available on many species of the forest (fusca) group.The continental atlas of tsetse flies, in combination with the upcoming component on animal trypanosomosis, can be used by policy makers, practitioners and scientists engaged in the control and elimination of tsetse flies and trypanosomosis in Africa. It also provides a blueprint for national authorities to develop country-level information systems (i.e. "national atlases") to assist planning and monitoring of control activities at the national and local levels.
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- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.4060/cd2022en
- ISBN
- 978-92-5-139040-5
- Pages
- #224 p.
- Published in
- Rome, Italy
- Rights Holder
- FAO
- altmetricbadge
- Yes
- citation
- Cecchi, G., Paone, M., de Gier, J. and Zhao, W. 2024. The continental atlas of the distribution of tsetse flies in Africa. PAAT Technical and Scientific Series, No. 12. Rome, FAO.
- contentcategory
- Technical
- ispartofseries
- PAAT Technical and Scientific Series
- issn
- 1020-7163
- jobnumber
- CD2022EN
- visibilitytype
- PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE
Table of Contents
- The continental atlas of the distribution of tsetse flies in Africa 1
- Contents 5
- Authors 15
- Acknowledgements 16
- Abbreviations and acronyms 17
- Foreword 18
- Executive summary 20
- Chapter 1. Background 23
- Introduction 23
- Mapping Tsetse flies at the continental level 23
- Past efforts and rationale for the continental atlas 23
- The continental atlas initiative 24
- Chapter 2. Methodology 25
- Searching, selecting and accessing the publications 25
- Search 25
- Selection criteria 25
- Access to the publications 25
- Repository 25
- Data processing 28
- Database 28
- Sources 28
- Geographical data 29
- Tsetse distribution 29
- Chapter 3. Results 31
- Genus Glossina 31
- Riverine (palpalis) group (subgenus Nemorhina) 34
- Glossina caliginea 38
- Glossina fuscipes 39
- Glossina fuscipes fuscipes 41
- Glossina fuscipes martinii 42
- Glossina fuscipes quanzensis 43
- Glossina pallicera 45
- Glossina pallicera newsteadi 46
- Glossina pallicera pallicera 47
- Glossina palpalis 48
- Glossina palpalis gambiensis 50
- Glossina palpalis palpalis 52
- Glossina tachinoides 54
- Savannah (morsitans) group (subgenus Glossina s.s.) 55
- Glossina austeni 59
- Glossina longipalpis 60
- Glossina morsitans 61
- Glossina morsitans centralis 63
- Glossina morsitans morsitans 65
- Glossina morsitans submorsitans 67
- Glossina pallidipes 68
- Glossina swynnertoni 70
- Forest (fusca) group (subgenus Austenina) 72
- Glossina brevipalpis 77
- Glossina frezili 79
- Glossina fusca 80
- Glossina fusca congolensis 82
- Glossina fusca fusca 83
- Glossina fuscipleuris 84
- Glossina longipennis 85
- Glossina medicorum 87
- Glossina nashi 88
- Glossina nigrofusca 90
- Glossina nigrofusca nigrofusca 91
- Glossina nigrofusca hopkinsi 92
- Glossina tabaniformis 92
- Other species of the fusca group 93
- Glossina haningtoni 93
- Glossina schwetzi 93
- Glossina severini 93
- Glossina vanhoofi 94
- Chapter 4. Discussion 95
- Major strenghts of the atlas 95
- Currency 95
- Sources 95
- The atlas as a geospatial database 95
- “Absence” points 95
- Mapping accuracy 96
- Major weaknesses of the atlas 98
- Sources 98
- Spatial gaps 98
- Temporal gaps 99
- Possible inaccuracies in the data sources 100
- Linkages between the continental atlas and national atlases 101
- The continental atlas of tsetse flies and human African trypanosomiasis 102
- Chapter 5. Conclusions 105
- References 107
- Annexes 119
- Annex 1. Scientific papers used as sourcesto develop the atlas 121
- Annex 2. Journals and publishers of the scientific papersused as sources to develop the atlas 149
- Annex 3. Structure of the atlas database 151
- Annex 4. Tsetse distribution maps at the country level 153
