By Maore Ithula
Human African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness is a widespread tropical disease that can be fatal if not treated. It is spread by the bite of an infected tsetse fly (Glossina Genus).
Tsetse fly bite erupts in a red sore and within a few weeks the infected experiences fever, swollen lymph glands, aching muscles and joints, headaches and irritability.
In its advanced stages, the disease attacks the central nervous system, causing changes in personality, alteration of the biological the circadian rhythm), confusion, slurred speech, seizures, and difficulty walking and talking.
Waterbucks, provided earliest clues as they are immune to tse tse flies. |
If untreated, the infection can cause death.
The disease affects mostly poor populations living in remote rural areas of Africa. Travellers also risk infection if they venture in regions where the insect is common.
Generally, the disease is not found in urban areas, although some cases have been reported in suburban areas of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Luanda, the capital city of Angola.
The insects bite during the day and since most herdsmen keep close to their animals they get protected from the fly.
The team will incorporate the traps in the technology, resulting in a push-pull mechanism, where once the flies are repulsed from livestock and humans, they are attracted to the traps and ultimate deaths.
The technology is more cost-effective than the existing drug alternatives.
A fixed trap for the insects. [PHOTOS: COURTESY] |
Dr Rajinder Saini, of the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) however, concedes that a major drawback that is expected of all technologies is parasites developing resistance to medication, the way malaria-causing mosquito resisted repellent jellies.
Currently the only remedy for nagana and sleeping sickness is melarsamine, discovered in 1949 but now facing widespread resistance and highly infiltrated by counterfeited versions.
