68. Fly’s eye view approaches to improve the colour of control devices for tsetse fly
Dr Roger Santer

Tsetse flies transmit Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness), and Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT, nagana), which are a significant burden on rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa.

To control these diseases, cheap and efficient devices to control tsetse are required. Traditionally these devices were made from blue or black cotton, but modern polyesters have the advantage of better robustness, weight, and cost.

Unfortunately, blue polyesters used in commercial products are much less attractive to tsetse than traditional blue cottons, so improving them would greatly increase the efficiency of control devices.

Fly colour perceptions were modelled to identify differences in the appearance of these fabrics to tsetse, which was then used to develop a dye recipe for a more attractive polyester.

News: Fabric colour discovery to help control deadly tsetse flies

Centre for International Development Research at Aberystwyth (CIDRA)