Tsetse fly in Ethiopia: Ecology and Distribution

Tsetse-transmitted animal trypanosomosis remains a major challenge to rural and agricultural development in western and south western parts of Ethiopia. Estimates made decades ago indicates that a total area of 220, 000 km2 is infested with different species of tsetse flies in which case livestock reared in this area are exposed to various levels of trypanosomosis risk. This paper aimed to determine the ecological and climatic preferences and map the potential distribution range of the major biological vectors of trypanosomes in Ethiopia, namely Glossina morsitans submorsitans, Glossina pallidipes, Glossina tachinoides and Glossina fuscipes fuscipes, using high resolution environmental datasets and Maxent modeling technique.The result indicates that, more than 140, 000 km2 otherwise agriculturally suitable land in the western and southwestern parts of the country is found to be potentially suitable for tsetse. More than twelve million livestock population are at risk of contracting tsetse-transmitted trypanosomosis in Ethiopia.