Geographical Information Systems in parasitology: a review of potential applications using the example of animal trypanosomosis in West Africa.

The epidemiology of vector-borne diseases is complex due to the variability in the ecology of the different actors involved, i.e. hosts, parasites and vectors. The transmission of African animal trypanosomosis in the West-African savannah region is an excellent example of this complexity: riverine tsetse flies have an heterogeneous distribution along the rivers, depending of suitable habitats, and transmit pathogenic trypanosomes were they use domestic animal as feeding hosts. Contrasting epidemiological situations may thus occur at the local scale, and a broad view of the overall environment is necessary to quantify the interfaces in time and space between hosts and vectors. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can provide new insight into the study of such complex epidemiological processes. GIS is a powerful technology that has been used mainly in map-making, and an enormous amount of knowledge can be gained simply by geographical data projection. GIS also allows juxtaposition of different types of information, creation of new variables, testing of theories and correlation, and generating of predictive models. The purpose of the present paper is to exemplify the potential application of GIS using a recent study carried out on animal trypanosomosis in a cattle-raising area of Burkina Faso.

[New tools for the study of animal trypanosomiasis in the Sudan: model-building of dangerous epidemiological passage by remote sensing geographic information systems]. / De nouveaux outils pour l'étude des trypanosomoses animales en zone soudanienne: modélisation de paysages épidémiologiquement dangereux par télédétection et Systèmes d'Information Géographique.

Recent studies in a rangeland area of Burkina Faso showed that riparian tsetse flies (Glossina tachinoides and G. palpalis gambiensis) were found along the main rivers, but depending on their location, they had different hosts and were not infected by the same trypanosomoses. There were different epidemiological situations within a distance of a few kilometres, and local assessment of the trypanosome risk thus called for a global approach taking account of the environmental and human factors involved in the interfaces between hosts and vectors. Various types of information concerning entomology, parasitology, ecology, land occupation and animal production systems were fed into a Geographical Information System. High spatial resolution remote sensing tools and original modelling methods were used to detect the valley landscapes most favourable to tsetse flies, and describe land use by herds. The impact of trypanosomes appeared to depend largely on animal movements, watering practices and the degree of contact with riparian tsetse flies. Linking these types of information revealed the most dangerous sites in epidemiological terms, which in this case represented some 18% of the network initially surveyed.

The changing distribution of two riverine tsetse flies over 15 years in an increasingly cultivated area of Burkina Faso.

Changes in the distribution of two riverine tsetse flies, Glossina tachinoides Westwood and Glossina palpalis gambiensis Vanderplank are described in an agro-pastoral area of Burkina Faso subject to increasing human population pressure and land use change. Two similar entomological surveys (one trap every 100 m, 120 km of river) were conducted in 1981 and 1996. Changes in tsetse distribution were compared to land use changes through high resolution remote sensing imagery (LANDSAT, SPOT). There was a close relationship between proximity of crops relative to riverine forest and the density of Glossina. Where fields encroached on riverine vegetation, tsetse populations declined. Where the geomorphological structure was not well suited to agricultural activity, riverine vegetation and tsetse fly populations were relatively unaffected, even with intense agricultural activity nearby. In contrast, increased human activity and higher cattle densities in the surrounding savannah areas were associated with increased tsetse numbers. The results demonstrated a wide diversity of tsetse distribution and habitat within a few kilometres in an agro-pastoral landscape in West Africa.