This Manual is intended to be of use mainly in the training of people concerned with the practical side of tsetse control.Tsetse flies are important because of their ability to spread diseases among man and among domestic animals. The tsetse flies feed only on blood, and in the act of piercing the skin and drawing blood, the flies pass on the blood parasite Trypanosoma to previously uninfected animals or men, causing the disease trypanosomiasis which can be fatal if untreated.Very large areas of Africa are without cattle because of the presence of the tsetse fly and their trypanosones. This means that the orderly economic development of these areas is prevented. A small farmer in a tsetse area cannot use draught oxen to bring more fields under cultivation, and he cannot improve his land with cattle dung. Cattle owners in land near to tsetse belts must always fear outbreaks of the disease, and try to maintain control by drug treatment of his cattle or by other means. Movement of cattle through tsetse belts to reach new grazing grounds or markets greatly increases the risks of infection and loss.Training of tsetse control personnel is therefore an essential part of any large programme to remove the threat of trypanosomiasis from Africa or to reduce it substantially. The aim of this Manual is to assist in the training of tsetse control personnel by setting out the basic facts of tsetse biology, structure, behaviour and ecology, and of the main methods available for tsetse fly control; undesirable side effects of control methods are also described, and a responsible approach to this manysided problem is encouraged.Trainees in the tsetse control field should understand that both the techniques and the ideas now in fashion may be replaced by improved ones as our understanding of rural development and tsetse control methods increases. This will mean that certain parts of this Manual will soon become outdated and in need of revision.
Authors
- Pages
- #280 p.
- Published in
- Rome, Italy
