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CyberDodo and the TseTse fly (1-47)

The TseTse fly 2/2

Is there a cure for the sleeping sickness ?

Here, the dire sanitary and economic conditions present in Africa come into play. Despite this illness being curable if diagnosed sufficiently early, between 50 to 80% of individuals who are infected with the illness will die.

Ongoing armed conflicts further aggravate the situation by effectively preventing human and animal screening, as well as information and prevention campaigns.

The WHO estimates that approximately half a million persons suffer from the disease and in certain regions of the Congo, Angola and Sudan, trypanosomiase proves to be the leading cause of death, or the second leading cause of death after HIV/AIDS.

Whats more, over 3 million animals die each year due to sleeping sickness.

How can we protect populations against trypanosome ?

A notable success occurred in Zanzibar (Tanzanian island group in the Indian Ocean) with respect to the fight against the sleeping sickness. Indeed, it is is now several years since trypanosome disappeared from the island. To accomplish this, scientists used a technique know as «the sterile insect » which involves trapping the flies, sterilising the males by exposing them to gamma ray radiation and then re-releasing them into nature.

Thereafter, their reproductive efforts with the female tsetse produces no offspring and their territory is thereby progressively (temporarily ?) rid of this menace.

Other techniques have been tested with more or less success and with varying impacts on the environment from the mass slaughter of animals that are potential carriers of trypanosome in a region, to the use of massive quantities of pesticides, the systematic clearing of vegetation harbouring the tsetse or the placing of traps to attract and then kill them.

Various studies are always ongoing to determine the level of effectiveness of each of these methods, as well as their respective durability.

Means to fight against the tsetse fly exist

What are the consequences of the sleeping sickness ?

The consequences for the African continent are terrible. With respect to human victims, severe damages to livestock herds and resultant poverty are just two serious consequences. In spreading the sleeping sickness, the tsetse fly foils the possibility for millions of farmers to keep work animals which are truly essential for an effective cultivation of the earth, not to mention the manure produced by these animals, a top choice for fertilizer.

Numerous experts estimate that the sleeping sickness is responsible for the inability to cultivate millions of square kilometers of fertile earth in Africa, with so many humans literally dying from hunger on the very borders thereof.

How can one protect themself from the tsetse fly ?

Most importantly, you must avoid all contact with the insect ! Indeed, it is important to know that common insect repellents applied to the skin have no effect on the tsetse fly. Whats more, there is no vaccine against trypanosome.

In at-risk regions, it is important to wear clothing covering the arms and legs as much as possible and to wear closed shoes as well as socks, despite temperatures that are usually very high.

At night, a mosquito net is indispensable.

In conclusion, the tsetse fly is a veritable scourge which is ravaging Africa. The international mobilization of both knowledge and action is critical to finding the means to effectively and permanently protect affected populations and animals. It is truly outrageous that in the 21st century, it is still possible to die from an illness for which there exists a cure (To learn more about this subject, see episode n° 36 about disease in developing countries).

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