Oct 13, 2026 |
Researchers from Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) concluded that 26% of the diet of tsetse flies is blood from warthogs and 25% from humans near the Maputo and Gorongosa parks.
The research, led by Denise R. A. Brito, of the UEM Biotechnology Centre, and published in the scientific journal Parasites & Vectors, identified 17 species of vertebrate hosts from the blood present in the flies’ gut and focused on the Maputo and Gorongosa National Parks.
In addition to the warthog and the human being, cattle and other domestic animals also appear on the list, although wildlife predominates, which places people, livestock and wildlife in the same transmission network.
The work took place within the two protected areas and in the agricultural buffer zones that surround them, with partners from South Africa, Mexico, France and Côte d’Ivoire, according to Bioengineer.org.
The results described indicate that between 65 and 90% of the flies analysed, depending on the species, carried trypanosomes, the parasites responsible for animal trypanosomosis and sleeping sickness. Of the seven species or subspecies detected, the most frequent belongs to the Trypanosoma brucei group, which includes the parasites that cause sleeping sickness in humans and appeared in 35% of the flies.
These are followed by Trypanosoma godfreyi, with 20%, as well as Trypanosoma vivax, Trypanosoma simiae and two forms of Trypanosoma congolense, associated with debilitating diseases in cattle, pigs and other farm animals. In light of these data, the authors advocate surveillance of human trypanosomiasis even where it is not currently considered a relevant clinical problem.
The same source indicates that 2,291 flies of four species of the genus Glossina were captured, of which 200 went on to genetic analysis. In Gorongosa, Glossina morsitans and Glossina pallidipes predominate, and around Maputo National Park, Glossina austeni and Glossina brevipalpis. The fly species proved more decisive than location, explaining 96% of the variation in feeding sources, which leads the researchers to recommend control strategies adjusted to each region and coordinated with the management of reservoirs in wildlife. Inside the flies, the bacteria Wigglesworthia and Wolbachia dominated, and these may come to be exploited in biological control methods.
The study was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme through the COMBAT project, dedicated to reducing the impact of animal trypanosomosis in Africa. As announced by CIRAD, the French institute that coordinates the initiative, the direct and indirect effects of the tsetse fly and trypanosomosis represent estimated losses of 4.5 billion dollars per year on the continent. The project brings together 21 partners and has 5.9 million euros of European funding, according to CIRAD’s InterTryp unit.
Photo: RR
