Preliminary survey on tsetse flies and trypanosomosis at grazing fields and villages in and around the Nech Sar National Park, Southern Ethiopia

Preliminary survey on tsetse flies and trypanosomosis were conducted between July and August 2007 at grazing fields and villages in and around the Nech Sar national park, with the ultimate intention of forwarding baseline information on the extent of the problem and possible control strategies. . Entomological (Tsetse flies) survey was conducted by deploying a total of 16 geo referenced NGU traps on the grazing fields of cattle. Parasitological (Trypanosomosis) survey and PCV (Packed Cell Volume) measurement were done on randomly selected 202 cattle, of the park neighboring villagers. Glossina pallidipes with mean apparent density of 11.46 ftd (flies per trap per day) were found to be the only prevailing tsetse fly species in the study area. However, the mean apparent density of biting flies was found to be 4.54 ftd. Trypanosomosis with population mean estimated 17.33±5.30 were seen to be a serious problem of cattle in the area. Trypanosoma congolense and T. vivax were the two dominant species encountered in the area. However statistically significant proportion of the cattle (