The project aims to determine whether the established technology used for controlling tsetse and tick borne diseases with insecticide treated cattle (ITC) could be used to control malaria in rural areas where livestock play an important role in maintaining populations of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes (that is, where the malaria vector lives off blood from cattle). Evidence already suggests that there is some correlation, as a pilot ITC programme in Ethiopia used to control tsetse disease led to a parallel reduction in malaria prevalence. The project is part of a larger “proof of concept” study and follows two DFID-funded projects which established base data. It is proposed to have the following outputs: 1.quantitative data on the effects of insecticide-treated cattle on mosquitoes, 2. recommendations on the suitability of insecticide-treated cattle to control mosquitoes and tsetse in the project area in particular and tsetse-infested areas of Africa in general, and 3. dissemination of results.

 

The Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich is an internationally recognised centre of expertise in research on the environment and natural resources sector. NRI will collaborate with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, FARM-Africa and other reputable organisations in the implementation of the project.