This study was conducted in order to determine the level of knowledge, altitude and  practice  towards  tsetse management and control in the course of prevention of devastating trypanosomiasis in the study area.  The results obtained from this study could be used in the assessment of the impact of drug use on Glossina populations in western Serengeti. Similarly the results can be used in the formulation of extension material in disease prevention.

 

The study area is located in Serengeti district which lies between latitude 2^â—¦ 00 S and longitude 34 50 E. The four villages (Makundusi, Natta-Mbiso, Rwamchanga and Bunchugu) were involved in the study. The ethnic groups found in this area include the Ikoma, Sukuma, Ikizu, Natta and Taturu. The Sukuma, Taturu and Ikizu are mainly agro-pastoralists keeping large herds of cattle some people having up to 4,000. The climate is savannah and the area experiences bimodal rainfall pattern. The area is covered by a range of vegetation types including grasslands, open woodlands, closed woodlands and riverine vegetation found along existing rivers .

 

Selection Criteria of Agro-pastoralists to be interviewed based on the number of cattle the person is having, readiness to be interviewed, the time one has spent in the area and those practicing communal   grazing near Ikorongo/Grumeti game reserves.

 

Administration of questionnaires

 

Interviews were conducted in Kiswahili (the national language) to respondents from the selected villages (Figure 1). Pretest interviews were conducted with twenty copies to ensure that questions were comprehensive and acceptable. The questionnaires were administered by the researchers, veterinary officers and drug vendors. The three parameters assessed were Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP). Under knowledge respondents were assessed on the knowledge of tsetse fly causes of HAT and AAT, clinical signs of the disease. On attitude the respondents were asked to rank the problem of AAT as compared to other animal diseases found in the study area. The practice section dwelt with the methods of control, trypanocidal drugs used, where do they obtain them, frequency of drug use, prices and dose rates. Eighty questionnaires out of 100 were retrieved from the respondents.

 

 

Analysis of data

 

All data collected through the questionnaires were entered into Microsoft excel sheet and the SPSS I6 and STATA II statistical tools were used to analyze and interpret the data. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) were used to analyse qualitative data.

 

 

 

Participants’ characteristics

 

The results (Table 1) shows that majority of respondents 34 (42.5%) fall within the age group of 45 to 60 years and 28.8% were within the age group of 36 to 45. Other 11 respondents (13.8%) were in the age group of 21 to 35 years while 10 respondents (12.5%) were above 61 years. The total numbers of respondents was 80 and  out of these males were 69 (86.2%) and females were 11 (13.8%).

 

 

From the results  in Table 2, it was revealed that 76 (95.0%) of respondents knew about tsetse flies and 54 (67.5%) of them were able to give its local name. Few respondents 3 (3.8%) did not know tsetse flies. From the same table most respondents (69%) knew that tsetse flies cause the disease to animals and humans.

 

 

Table 3 indicates that, 54 (29.0%) respondents know that tsetse flies hides along the rivers, 47 (25.3%) in grazing areas, 47 (25.3%) near Serengeti National Park and 38 (20.4%) in bushes and forest (Table 4).

 

 

 

Table 5 indicates that 72 (82.8%) respondents ranked tsetse fly to be the first cause of animal trypanosomiasis while 11(12.6%) believed that the disease was caused by other flies and ticks.  4(4.6%) respondents associated the disease with the presence of wild animals. Table 6 indicates that the respondents ranked trypanosomiasis (ndorobo) first important among disease existing in the area. Other animal diseases are CBBP, FMD, ECF, anaplasmosis, dizziness and LCD.

 

 

 

 

Table 7 shows that respondents were aware of the effect of tsetse on livestock productivity. Animal deaths ranked first with 72 (37.3%) respondents, loss of income 52 (26.9%) and11 (5.7%); respondents mentioned other consequences like reduced draft power and animals not being marketable. From the same table other respondents 18 (9.3%) sited miscarriage as another effect of the disease and failure of oxen to plough were 5 (2.6%). 

 

 

Table 8 shows that majority of respondents were using different methods to control AAT in the study area. Sixty two (35.0%) treating their sick animals, 69(39.0%) are using sprays and 46(26%) use vaccines.

 

 

Table 9 indicates that respondents are using drugs in the treatment of animal trypanosomiasis and other diseases. Sixty one (21.4%) respondents Samorin, novidium 42(21.4%), dimenazine  37(18.9%) and are the most used drugs. Other drugs used for treatment include: Berenil 12(6.1%) and veriben 9(4.6%). For the treatment of other diseases they use OTC, DIP and TRIDOX.

 

 

Table 10 shows that drugs are obtained from different sources: 65 (56.0%) of respondents obtained from private and animal chemical stores, 5(4.3%) government subsides, 43 (37.1%) livestock officers and 3(2.6) from neighbors.

 

The findings indicate that most respondents were men 69(86.2%) aged between 45 to 60 years and  also there was a good number  of  active reproductive age 36 to 45 it is easier for these groups of people to acquire and share new skills on disease prevention. It was also discovered that majority of the respondents had knowledge 76(95%) of tsetse fly and knew the local name of the flies. Respondents also knew that tsetse fly bite cause the disease to human and livestock. Similar observation was made Nigeria by Njoku et al. (2003) and Gumel et al. (2012) were farmers new the local names for tsetse flies. Respondents  have identified riverside, forest and grazing areas as the most risky places for fly and trypanosomes exposure. This is in line with scientific description about the biology and ecology of the flies (Hargrove, 2004: Leak, 1999). Similar observation in a study done in Nigeria (Gumel et al., 2012) showed that farmers believe livestock contact tsetse in forest and riverine areas. Majority of respondents were aware of the disease symptoms in their animals which are used as basis for treatment. It was observed that agro-pastoralists base on clinical signs to diagnose sick animals this could lead to the wrong treatment of animals and hence drug misuse . A similar observation was made in the study by Magwisha et al. (2013 ).in Southern Tanzania where the diagnosis of disease based entirely onclinicalsigns.It was revealed that the majority of respondents understands the causes of animal trypanosomiasis to be the tsetse fly, while other respondents related the disease with presence of wild animals. This result coincides with tsetse fly ecology that their availability is influenced by the presence of host animals (Leak, 1999). Of the reported diseases African animal trypanosomiasis has been perceived as the number one obstacle to cattle production in the study area. These findings were consistent with a study done in Southwestern Ethiopia (Seyoum et al., 2013) and Kenya (Ohaga et al., 2007) where trypanosomiasis was perceived as the number one among other diseases inaffecting cattle production. From this study respondents have emphasized that if cattle was suspected of trypanosomiasis; noticeable reductions could be observed on milk production, body condition, oxen working ability, growth rate and price of animal and increased mortality in untreated cases. This indicates average level of awareness of the respondents on the role played by tsetse in the disease transmission to their cattle. Similar observation was made in the study by Onyiah (1997) and Gumel et al. (2012) where most respondents knew that tsetse bite has an effect on cattle. This study revealed that trypanocidal drugs are mostly used by respondents for treatment and control of animal trypanosomiasis. This indicates that the respondents have a good knowledge on the effects caused by tsetse fly on their livestock which influenced them to use drugs to control the disease. Similar findings were reported by Magwisha et al. (2013) in Southern Tanzania and Gumel et al. (2012) in Nigeria they found that livestock keepers had a good knowledge on tsetse and the disease are causing to their animals. On practices for disease control the study revealed that majority of respondents were using different methods to control the AAT which included treating sick animals, using drugs and vaccines. Most of these drugs were obtained from private stores and livestock officers while few were from the government subside. This indicates that majority of the agro-pastoralists  had  knowledge  and   were   aware   of   the consequences of the disease to their livestock.

The findings from this study indicate that respondents have a high knowledge of tsetse fly and the effects it causes on cattle productivity. Their attitudes and practices towards control of tsetse fly and the disease are good though knowledge and sensitization is needed for livestock keepers to contribute towards dip maintenance and guidance on the proper administration of drugs. In this area the tsetse burden could be successful reduced by involving the agro-pastoralists and the management of Ikorongo/Grumeti reserve in government supported control campaign using insecticide impregnated targets.   

The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.