Trypanosomiasis control and land use in Africa

Abstract

Human and animal trypanosomiases have been, in the past, major constraints to the development of much of Africa. Today, rapidly-expanding human populations are having profound effects on the distribution of tsetse flies, the vectors of these diseases. In some areas flies are disappearing whereas, elsewhere, new man-made habitats are being created, and the encroachment of subsistence farming into areas cleared of tsetse can prevent optimal development of the land.