Innovative, Low-Cost and Environment-Friendly Approach to Control the Human Sleeping Sickness Vector Glossina spp

Njayou Ngapagna Arouna of the Université des Montagnes in Cameroon will identify chemical blends to effectively repel tsetse flies, which transmit Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), as an environmentally friendly method of disease control. Chemical blends released from porous material hung around the necks of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa can protect them from Animal African Trypanosomiasis (nagana), which is also transmitted by tsetse flies. Arouna will initiate a similar approach in humans by optimizing combinations of repellents and testing their ability to repel flies in the laboratory, which will be confirmed in field tests in Central and Western Africa.