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Strengthening Resilience against Sleeping Sickness in Malawi (STRESS)

Rhodesian sleeping sickness is caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and is transmitted by savannah tsetse flies. The disease is zoonotic, meaning that animals such as wild mammals and livestock are the primary hosts. This form of trypanosomiasis can, however, infect humans with severe clinical consequences. The zoonotic nature of the disease means that understanding its ecology is challenging and targeting the tsetse fly vector remains the best chance of reducing the risk of disease. In 2019-2020, a spike in sleeping sickness cases were observed at the local district hospital prompting an investigation to the potential ecological drivers of disease transmission.

What will the STRESS project do?

STRESS will investigate the ecology of tsetse flies at the wildlife reserve perimeter edge using entomological trapping, environmental and wildlife mapping, and tsetse population modelling. Furthermore, we will sequence trypanosome species in various hosts to understand the local dynamics and virulence of the disease. This information will be used to deliver a tsetse fly control programme based on insecticide-treated targets to protect communities living on the edge of Vwaza.