Modelling the impact of climate change on the distribution and abundance of tsetse in Northern Zimbabwe

Predicts how increases in temperature may have changed the distribution and relative abundance of Glossina pallidipes

Abstract

Climate change is predicted to impact the transmission dynamics of vector-borne diseases. Tsetse flies (Glossina) transmit species of Trypanosoma that cause human and animal African trypanosomiasis. A previous modelling study showed that temperature increases between 1990 and 2017 can explain the observed decline in abundance of tsetse at a single site in the Mana Pools National Park of Zimbabwe. Here, we apply a mechanistic model of tsetse population dynamics to predict how increases in temperature may have changed the distribution and relative abundance of Glossina pallidipes across northern Zimbabwe.

This is a publication arising from the Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) programme.

Citation

Longbottom J, Caminade C, Gibson H, Weiss D, Torr S, Lord J (2020). Modelling the impact of climate change on the distribution and abundance of tsetse in Northern Zimbabwe. Parasit Vectors. 13:526.

Modelling the impact of climate change on the distribution and abundance of tsetse in Northern Zimbabwe

Updates to this page

Published 19 October 2020