Rats and disease: A growing plague in Africa Dr S.R. Belmain and A.N. Meyer Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK

Zoonosis World-wide concern on the re-emergence of zoonotic diseases, the expansion of endemicity, new etiologic foci  Urbanisation  Climate change  Increased connectivity  Rural expansion  Sanitation

 Rodents act as zoonosis reservoirs and vectors and are hosts to more than 60 diseases that can infect humans  Their commensality can lead to disease epidemics  Rodents cause multiple impacts on people’s lives Importance of Rodents

 Impact of rodents on rural household food security and development of ecologically-based rodent management strategies - recently completed project in Mozambique  Promotion of ecologically-based rodent management - operating in South Africa  Prevention of sanitary risks linked to rodents at the rural/peri-urban interface, RATZOOMAN - operating in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique  Protecting staple crops in eastern Africa: integrated approaches for ecologically based field rodent pest management, STAPLERAT - recently completed project in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia Rodent projects in Africa

Ecologically-based rodent management  Assess the total impact of rodents on people’s lives  Design and test participatory management strategies  Assess the local communities’ knowledge, attitudes and practice on rodents and their control

 Plague, annual outbreaks continue in Mozambique, Tanzania; it persists in the wild in many other countries including the RSA  Leptospirosis, preliminary studies in Mozambique showed infection (IgG) rates of 17% in humans Disease impacts of rodents on people  Lassa Fever in West Africa, similar viruses present throughout Africa  Toxoplasmosis, studies in Mozambique showed antibodies (IgM) present in 88% of human samples  Haemorrhagic fevers, leishmaniasis, salmonella, typhus, parasites,

Potential Control Strategies in Zambezia  Rats are the main source of available protein  Rodenticides are not available, their introduction would be inappropriate Environmental management Trapping Roof management

Comparison between the number of rodents caught in houses trapping daily with ten traps (treatment) and houses with no rodent management activity (non-treatment) in Pinda village, Morrumbala, Zambezia Province. Non-treatment houses trap for three nights only with different houses used each month.

Impact of trapping upon people’s lives Before  10% of people recently bitten by rat during the night  Storage losses estimated at Kg/household/year (up to 30% of total household stock)  Leptospirosis (active IgG) prevalence of 17%, plague exposure prevalence of 33% After  0% rodent bites in last six months  Loss assessment trial indicated losses reduced by 50-60%, duration of food remaining in store increased by about 3 months  Active antibodies for leptospirosis reduced to 2%  Large increase in protein intake  Better farmer perceptions - preventive actions

Prevention of sanitary risks linked to rodents at rural/peri-urban interface - RATZOOMAN A three-year research project with 1.45 million euros from the European Commission involving health and agricultural experts from eight countries

RATZOOMAN Objectives Identify and describe Yersinia, Leptospira and Toxoplasma species prevalence Investigate the ecological and epidemiological determinants of rodent-borne zoonosis Formulate sustainable participatory strategies for major stakeholders to bring about awareness of risk of disease, disease prediction and disease management

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