Costs Of Using 'Tiny Targets' to Control Glossina fuscipes fuscipes, a Vector of Gambiense Sleeping Sickness in Arua District of Uganda

Autor: Inaki Tirados, Vanja Kovacic, Alexandra Shaw, Clement T. N. Mangwiro, Johan Esterhuizen, Michael J. Lehane, Stephen J. Torr
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 9, Iss 3, p e0003624 (2015)
ISSN: 1935-2735
1935-2727
Popis: Introduction To evaluate the relative effectiveness of tsetse control methods, their costs need to be analysed alongside their impact on tsetse populations. Very little has been published on the costs of methods specifically targeting human African trypanosomiasis Methodology/Principal Findings In northern Uganda, a 250 km2 field trial was undertaken using small (0.5 X 0.25 m) insecticide-treated targets (“tiny targets”). Detailed cost recording accompanied every phase of the work. Costs were calculated for this operation as if managed by the Ugandan vector control services: removing purely research components of the work and applying local salaries. This calculation assumed that all resources are fully used, with no spare capacity. The full cost of the operation was assessed at USD 85.4 per km2, of which USD 55.7 or 65.2% were field costs, made up of three component activities (target deployment: 34.5%, trap monitoring: 10.6% and target maintenance: 20.1%). The remaining USD 29.7 or 34.8% of the costs were for preliminary studies and administration (tsetse surveys: 6.0%, sensitisation of local populations: 18.6% and office support: 10.2%). Targets accounted for only 12.9% of the total cost, other important cost components were labour (24.1%) and transport (34.6%). Discussion Comparison with the updated cost of historical HAT vector control projects and recent estimates indicates that this work represents a major reduction in cost levels. This is attributed not just to the low unit cost of tiny targets but also to the organisation of delivery, using local labour with bicycles or motorcycles. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken, investigating key prices and assumptions. It is believed that these costs are generalizable to other HAT foci, although in more remote areas, with denser vegetation and fewer people, costs would increase, as would be the case for other tsetse control techniques.
Author Summary Sleeping sickness remains a serious threat in Sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is normally controlled by medical screening of the human population and treatment of individuals found to be infected. The disease is transmitted by tsetse flies but vector control is rarely used for control. A major reason given is that is too expensive in resource poor settings. We have developed a novel technology based on insecticide treated screens (= tiny targets) to control flies more cost-effectively. A 250 km2 field trial of tiny targets has been performed in Northern Uganda and we made use of this to undertake a full costing analysis of tiny target technology. The cost of the operation was costed at USD 85.4 per km2. This represents a major reduction in the cost of tsetse control. The reductions are largely due to the low costs of tiny targets and to the ease with which they can be deployed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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