Interactions between entomopathogenic fungus, Trypanosoma congolense and tsetse fly Glossina sp.

Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) infect their target organisms through the cuticle and are being considered as potential biological control agents of tsetse flies. In addition to killing the host, EPF can reduce blood feeding tsetse with subsequent impact on the development and transmission of Trypanosoma parasite.

It is therefore hypothesized that fungus Metarhizium anisopliae can stop the multiplication of the parasite in the midgut, acquisition and transmission as reported in mosquitoes.

The complementary action of EPF on mortality, reduction in blood feeding, reproduction potential, and probably vector competence, may play an important role in the epidemiology of the disease in humans and cattle. 

Funding

  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Collaborators

  • University of Maryland, USA
  • Mount Kenya University