NEWS:Uganda to start aerial spraying of tsetse flies

Uganda to start aerial spraying of tsetse flies

Monday, 21st September, 2009 from NEW VISION

UGANDA is to start aerial spraying to eradicate tsetse flies, which cause sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. Uganda is one of the 37 sub-Sahara African countries infested with tsetse flies. Two-thirds of the country is affected, putting about nine million people at risk of contracting sleeping sickness. About 700 new cases are reported annually. Also, 70% of Uganda’s national herd is at risk of contracting nagana. Agriculture minister Hope Mwesigye said aerial spraying would be carried out in the south-eastern and north-western regions, which are heavily-infested with three major tsetse fly species which cause an acute form of sleeping sickness, as well as another chronic form of the disease. “We have been having many interventions such as tsetse traps, but we are now looking at spraying, which is an area-wide approach. The tsetse flies keep coming from the game parks, so aerial spraying will eradicate sleeping sickness and nagana. The chemical does not affect humans,” Mwesigye said. She called for investment in research and the development of more effective drugs against sleeping sickness and nagana. “There is no vaccine against this disease and no new drugs are being developed. Currently, there is also a limited range of drugs. These drugs are highly toxic and increasingly becoming ineffective due to drug resistance.” Mwesigye was addressing the 30th international scientific council for trypanosomiasis research and control conference at Speke Resort, Munyonyo yesterday. The minister, however, did not disclose the amount of funds that will be involved in the programme or when it would start. She noted that the programme is in its initial stages and a technical team is jointly being put in place by the health and animal husbandry ministries. The districts infested with tsetse flies include Mukono, Kayunga, Jinja, Kamuli, Bugiri, Kaliro, Busia, Mayuge, Iganga, Pallisa, Soroti, Tororo, Dokolo, Lira, Kaberamaido, Kalangala and Namutumba. Others are Adjumani, Koboko, Arua, Moyo, Maracha-Terego, Yumbe and Amuru. President Yoweri Museveni, in a speech read by second deputy premier Eriya Kategaya, said Africa is lagging behind in development due to the high burden of preventable diseases. He said Uganda had developed a national programme to eliminate tsetse flies.