The feeding habits of the tsetse, Glossina pallidipes Austen on the south Kenya coast, in the context of its host range and trypanosome infection rates in other parts of east Africa

Abstract

The results of blood-meal identifications for 651 Glossina pallidipes from 5 subpopulations near the Kenya coast south of Mombasa, and one, 70 km inland, are presented. Bushpigs and/or warthogs were important hosts for G. pallidipes at all sites. Other major hosts included elephant, buffalo and bushbuck where they were present, and on a dairy ranch nearly 30% of feeds were taken from cattle. There was a general relationship between the numbers and diversity of wild herbivores and the abundance of G. pallidipes. These results are discussed in relation to published data on feeding patterns and trypanosome infection rates for G. pallidipes from other parts of East Africa. Overall, there are significant correlations between the proportions of bovid feeds and T. vivax infections. Bovid-feeding G. pallidipes populations with high T. vivax infection rates in south-east Uganda and western Kenya contrast with the coastal, suid-feeding populations with low T. vivax rates. These characteristics are presented as clines extending across East Africa.