Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Vector-borne zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted between animals and people via arthropods) are re-emerging globally. A major threat to health, these typically neglected diseases are expected to increase given our limited capacity for detecting and addressing them. One such disease is trypanosomiasis, also known as 'sleeping sickness.' Trypanosomiasis is an important cause of human fatality in sub-Saharan Africa and causes significant illness in domestic animals and wildlife. Tsetse flies are the vector, transmitting the microscopic parasites, trypanosomes, within and among species. Malawi reports the highest number of trypanosomiasis deaths globally, yet there is almost no data on the disease there. The disease risk is complex, involving the tsetse vector, numerous wildlife species, domestic animals, and people. Further, the disease mainly affects marginalized Indigenous populations in rural areas. The One Health framework is a good approach for such research, as it specifically seeks to understand how animals, people, pathogens, and the environment intersect to promote or reduce health. This project uses a One Health framework to investigate the ecology of African trypanosomiasis at the intersections of the local people, the tsetse fly vector, the trypanosome parasites, and the wildlife host species. We will investigate the local communities' relationship with the protected forest habitat where wildlife and tsetse are found, describe the co-occurrence of tsetse and wildlife hosts to quantify tsetse feeding preferences, and relate trypanosome infection prevalence in tsetse to varying wildlife host densities. This work is important in exploring ways to protect people, livestock, and wildlife from the global infectious consequences of habitat encroachment and ecosystem change. In our interconnected world, Canadians can benefit directly from this research, as well as showcase our world leadership role as promoters of global public health.