Tsetse abundance data were obtained from a pre-intervention survey conducted in northern Uganda in 2010.
In this paper, we use a geostatistical modelling framework to produce maps of estimated tsetse abundance under two scenarios: (i) when accurate data on the local river network are available and (ii) when river information is sparse. As this method of vector control continues to be implemented across larger areas, knowledge of the abundance of tsetse to guide the deployment of “Tiny Targets” will be of increasing value. The deployment of insecticide-treated targets (“Tiny Targets”) to attract and kill riverine tsetse, the vectors of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, has been shown to be particularly cost-effective. Vector control is emerging as an important component of global efforts to control Gambian sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis, HAT).
