Evaluation of Deltamethrin applications in the control of tsetse and trypanosomosis in the southern rift valley areas of Ethiopia

A study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of Deltamethrin (0.4% impregnated targets and 1% pour-on formulation) in controlling tsetse and trypanosomosis was carried out in two selected 10 km × 10 km Universal Transverse Mercator Grids of the Southern Tsetse Eradication Project (STEP) area in the southern rift valley of Ethiopia. The Grids selected were H3 (site I) and G5 (site II) in two districts of the Wolaita Zone. The trial was underway from September 2003 to April 2004. The strategy followed to accomplish the trial was a pre-intervention phase (entomology and parasitology) and an intervention phase with insecticide (Deltamethrin 0.4%)-impregnated odour-baited targets in site I and Deltamethrin 1% ‘pour-on’ application to cattle in site II. The intervention phase was monitored on a monthly basis. Following the deployment of 460 targets at a density of 4 targets per km2 in trial site I, the relative abundance of tsetse fly (Glossina pallidipes) declined from a pre-intervention mean catch of 1.35 flies per trap per day to 0.05 flies per trap per day at final monitoring. These resulted in an 88.9% overall reduction. Similarly, an 83.25% reduction was recorded in the incidence of trypanosomosis in sentinel cattle as it dropped from 10.75% (first monitoring) to 1.8% (last monitoring). The corresponding measures of packed cell volume (PCV) have shown a significant improvement from a mean of 21.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 20.7–22.9) at first monitoring to 25.5% (95% CI: 24.3–26.7) of last monitoring (P < 0.01). In site II, the trial was started by spraying Deltamethrin 1% pour-on to 409 cattle at a rate of 1 ml/10 kg body weight. Pour-on treatment was repeated every month throughout the trial period. A sharp drop in the relative abundance of tsetse fly was revealed soon after. The catch was nil at fourth monitoring as it declined from 0.91 flies per trap per day of pre-intervention (P < 0.01). A 94.9% overall reduction was achieved. The incidence of trypanosomosis in sentinel cattle also declined from 10% (first monitoring) to 0.95% (last monitoring) with about 90.5% decline. An improvement in the overall mean PCV was seen as it rose from a mean of 24.1% (95% CI: 22.9–25.3) at first monitoring to 27.2% (95% CI: 26.2–28.1) at last monitoring which revealed a significant increase (P < 0.01) until the third monitoring and maintained a stable state thereafter. This work finally disclosed that a relatively better efficacy was attained by using Deltamethrin pour-on formulation than targets in controlling tsetse and trypanosomiosis. However, this difference did not prove an apparent significance (P > 0.05). So it is recommended to continue the current tsetse suppression by using the integrated approach of both techniques under consideration.