Abstract: Stingless bees are important pollinators of cultivated and wild plants, contributing significantly to biodiversity and foodsecurity. Conserving pollinator plant interactions is essential to secure these ecosystems services. The use ofmorphological features in the identification of stingless bees in the genusHypotrigonais extremely difficult, due to manysimilarities among species resulting in taxonomic ambiguity. Here, we apply both traditional morphometrics and DNAbarcoding as ompl...
Abstract: Propolis is a hive product composed of biologically active plant resins, and has been shown toenhance individual honey bee (Apis melliferaL.) health. Propolis has also been demonstratedto mitigate, in part, the negative effects caused by the ecto-parasitic miteVarroa destructorand its associated viruses on the health of managed European honey bee colonies.However, its effect on the health status of African honey bees remains largely unknown.Here, we found that the African savannah ...
Abstract: Climate change and bush encroachment pose huge challenges to rangeland management in Namibia. These challenges require a holistic management approach that ensures consistent and optimum forage productivity and sustainability. Mechanical and chemical control methods are the most used techniques in controlling woody encroaching species to improve pastoral properties in the Namibian savannas. However, there is very little information regarding the management options that concurrently ...
Abstract: Despite substantial efforts to control locusts they remain periodically a major burden in Africa, causing severe yield loss and hence loss of food and income. Distribution maps indicating the value of the basic reproduction number R0 was used to identify areas where an insect pest can be controlled by a natural enemy. A dynamic process-based mathematical model integrating essential features of a natural enemy and its interaction with the pest is used to generate R0 risk maps for in...
Abstract: Context Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease endemic in resource-poor communities. It is caused by the penetration of the female sand flea, Tunga penetrans, into the skin causing immense pain, itching, difficulty walking, sleeping and concentrating on school or work. Infection is associated with living in a house with unsealed earthen house floors. Methods This feasibility study used a community-based co-creation approach to develop and test simple, locally appropriate, a...
Abstract: This paper estimates the impact of trypanosomiasis on crop-livestock production, economic loss and poverty in Ethiopia. We use unique panel data to estimate how the disease affects livestock deaths, production costs and crop production. We then use these estimates to evaluate the disease's total economic loss and its implications on poverty in the study districts and the country. Estimates of the fixed effect regression models indicate that trypanosomiasis increases the value of li...
Abstract: Malaria remains a serious threat in sub-Saharan Africa Available control tools are now largely ineffective. Because of the role of vectors in malaria transmission, integrated vector management strategies that are environmentally safe, economically feasible and acceptable to resource-limited communities are one way to achieve effective malaria control. However, adequate knowledge of the biology, behaviour and ecology of the malaria vectors are imperative. Sugar-feeding from plants i...
Abstract: Due to the rapid development of tick resistance to synthetic chemical acaricides and the potential risk posed by these chemicals to non-target species, efforts are intensifying towards the development of entomopathogenic fungi as an environmentally benign alternative tick control strategy. The main objective of this study is the development of formulations and delivery systems for control of ticks with entomopathogenic fungi. Screening of entomopathogenic fungal isolates is the fir...
Abstract: Several Cicadulina species are important pests of maize by virtue of their role as vectors of maize streak virus (MSV). Tnis study deals with various aspects of the vector/virus/host plant relationship. Developmental times for all life stages of both C. anestae and C. mbila were inversely related to temperature, and the data were used to develop a degree-day (DD) model that can be used to estimate population growth in the field. The rate of development peaked at 30 °c for both spe...
Abstract: Honey bees are important insects that have benefited mankind for medicinal and nutritional purposes for thousands of years. They have also provided an important balance in the environment allowing many plant species to pollinate and proliferate. Honey bees have naturally occurring parasites and pathogens which usually do not destroy the bees. The development of long-distance travel among human beings introduced global trade in plants and animals introducing new species and diseases...
Abstract: Acaricides in tick control, had been thought to be in Africa the panacea for over a century. Environmental and economic constraints, development of acaricide-resistant strains due to acaricide misuse, have brought about the need for an alternative tick control strategy. The use of tick resistant cattle has then been advocated and echoed in the USA and Australia where it got its full expansion. In Africa, few works have been undertaken on tick resistance despite the fact that many t...
Abstract: The research on which this thesis is based was carried out as part of a multidisciplinary project, “SolarMal”, which aimed to evaluate proof of principle for the elimination of malaria from Rusinga Island by augmenting the existing national malaria control programme tools with mass trapping of mosquitoes. As electricity was required to run the mosquito traps and most residents had no electricity, solar systems were also installed,providing lighting and telephone charging as wel...
Introduction: Malaria in man is caused by four species of protozoan parasites1 belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Plasmodium parasites exhibit a complex life cycle involving development through two host2 species: an insect vector3 (definitive host4) and a vertebrate species (intermediate host5). Humans serve as intermediate hosts for several Plasmodium species (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae) whilst female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles serve as the definitive hosts (Fi...
Abstract: Ijara district in Kenya was one of the hotspots of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) during the 2006/2007 outbreak which led to human and animal deaths causing huge economic losses. The main constraint in the control and prevention of RVF is inadequate knowledge on its occurrence during the interepidemic period. This study was aimed at understanding the occurrence of RVF and perceived risk factors by pastoralists in cattle in Ijara to enable the development of improved community-based diseas...
Abstract: Outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging tick-borne pathogens are becoming more frequent worldwide. Surveillance is critical to improve our understanding of pathogen diversity and their tick vectors. This will elucidate disease transmission dynamics that can inform the development of better disease prevention and control strategies. A total of 4,324 questing ticks (209 adult ticks, 586 nymphs and 3,502 larvae) were collected from six sites in Kenya‟s Shimba Hills National Reserve (S...