Controlling Tsetse Flies and Ticks Using Insecticide Treatment of Cattle in Tororo District Uganda: Cost Benefit Analysis

Abstract

Background: The endemic vector-borne diseases transmitted by tsetse and ticks impose heavy burdens on the livestock keepers in Africa. Applying deltamethrin to the belly, legs, and ears of cattle offers a possibility of mitigating these losses at a cost affordable to livestock keepers. Although studies have quantified the impacts of individual diseases on livestock productivity, little is known about the dual economic benefits of controlling both tsetse and ticks, nor about the number of cattle that need to be treated to confer these benefits. Alongside an epidemiological study in south-east Uganda, a farm level assessment was done to investigate the benefits and costs of spraying different proportions of the village cattle population using this restricted application protocol.Methods: A study comprising 1,902 semi-structured interviews was undertaken over a period of 18 months. Financial data on household income and expenditure on cattle was collected, and cost-benefit analysis was done pre- and post-intervention and for different spraying regimes. The total cost of the intervention was obtained from the implementation costs of the epidemiological study and from expenses incurred by participating farmers enabling examination of benefit-cost ratios and incremental benefit-cost ratios for each treatment regime.Results: The benefit-cost analysis of spraying 25%, 50%, and 75% of the cattle population yielded average benefit-cost ratios of 3.85, 4.51, and 4.46. The incremental benefit-cost ratios from spraying each additional 25% of the cattle population were 11.38, 3.89, and 0.79, showing a very high return on investment for spraying 50% of the population, with returns reducing thereafter.Conclusion: Comparing the gross margins per bovine, the study found that increasing the proportion of cattle sprayed yielded increasing benefits to the farmers, but that these benefits were subject to diminishing returns. From a practical viewpoint, this study recommends spraying only draft cattle to control trypanosomiasis and tick-borne diseases in this area as they make 38.62% of the cattle population, approaching the 50% threshold. In areas with a lower proportion of draft males, farmers could be advised to also include cows.

The elimination of human African trypanosomiasis: Achievements in relation to WHO road map targets for 2020

“…Tsetse control activities are also carried out in a number of countries in which rhodesiense HAT is endemic, including Kenya [ 38 ], Malawi [ 39 ], United Republic of Tanzania [ 40 , 41 ], Uganda [ 42 ], Zambia [ 43 ] and Zimbabwe [ 44 ], where interventions against the tsetse vector are primarily driven by the need to control animal trypanosomiasis; interventions are normally implemented by veterinary services and livestock keepers. However, the benefits to One Health of tsetse control are well recognized both nationally and internationally [ 45 ], and they are explicitly pursued in many areas [ 46 ].…”

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of African Animal Trypanosomiasis in Cattle in Lambwe, Kenya

“…In addition, those who used both vector control and drug treatment had fewer cases of AAT than those who only used drug treatment. It has been suggested that treating cattle population with insecticide leads to increased benefit costs, increased killing of tsetse flies, and reduction of Trypanosoma species in cattle and cattle trypanosomiasis [ 73 , 74 ]. Similar results have been reported in Uganda and Tanzania [ 73 , 74 ].…”

“…It has been suggested that treating cattle population with insecticide leads to increased benefit costs, increased killing of tsetse flies, and reduction of Trypanosoma species in cattle and cattle trypanosomiasis [ 73 , 74 ]. Similar results have been reported in Uganda and Tanzania [ 73 , 74 ]. Thus, the integrated use of trypanocidals and insecticides can effectively reduce cattle AAT levels.…”

Livestock Network Analysis for Rhodesiense Human African Trypanosomiasis Control in Uganda

“…For example, in this study, we show that for "slow" pathogens like rHAT, effective treatment strategies can sufficiently reduce the spread of rHAT. It has been shown that treatment of cattle using diminazene aceturate and spraying for tsetse flies to protect cattle against trypanosomiasis is effective and has high net benefits (86)(87)(88). Compared to "slow" pathogens such as rHAT, control of "fast" pathogens within the network may be problematic and costly requiring a wider coverage of cattle markets or a highly effective control method or methods.…”