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Sleeping sickness on the rise, warn experts
A micrograph of a rat blood smear revealing Trypanosoma brucei parasites using a Giemsa stain technique.
African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, a serious infection caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei, is usually spread to humans by the tsetse flies infected by animals and other humans. PHOTO | COURTESY | CDC
What you need to know:
- According to KENTTEC chairman David Wanyonyi, the tsetse fly population is expected to grow once the rains start thus spread of the disease.
- The flies, according to the experts, cannot survive in harsh climatic conditions due to the prolonged drought which forced them to migrate to conducive environment where water is readily available.
Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (KENTTEC) has warned of rise in cases of sleeping sickness in the country.
The deadly disease, spread by tsetse flies, affects both human and livestock.
According to KENTTEC chairman David Wanyonyi, the tsetse fly population is expected to grow once the rains start thus spread of the disease.
The flies, according to the experts, cannot survive in harsh climatic conditions due to the prolonged drought which forced them to migrate to conducive environment where water is readily available.
They said the most affected areas are Lambwe Valley, Boni Forest along the Tana River and the Loita in Narok South.
Speaking on Saturday in Nairobi, KENTTEC chief executive officer Pamela Olet said that pastoralists in search of food for their animals were at risk of losing hundreds of their animals to the disease.
This, he said was because the animals are weak due to lack of sufficient pasture and water to boost their immune system.
The council, she said, is currently sensitising the pastoral community on the dangers paused by the disease both to their animals and to themselves.
In addition, the council is assisting them in spraying and trapping the flies in a bid to contain spread of the disease.
