News and Events
Insect of the Month (July): Brown ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus
Ticks are obligate blood‐sucking arthropods found throughout most regions of the world. They infest every class of terrestrial vertebrates. Ticks and tick-borne diseases cause economic losses in Africa of close to 2 billion USD.
‘Suicidal Hatch’ a potential management strategy for potato cyst nematodes
12 June 2020: It may be possible to manage potato cyst nematodes (PCN), currently a key threat to potato production in eastern Africa, by inducing ‘suicidal hatching’ of the pests using naturally occurring chemicals in crop roots.
Insect of the Month (June): Sandfly, Phlebotomus duboscqi
Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease that causes each year 700,000 to 1 million new cases globally, with 26,000 to 65,000 deaths. The disease is transmitted through bites of infected female sandflies, which feed on blood to produce eggs. Humans are among several animal species that have been found to harbor Leishmania parasites in nature.