Laboratory and field tests of Carbaryl 5% against fleas in Lushoto district, Tanzania
Background and Objective: Lushoto district has been an active focus of plague disease since 1980 and many pesticides were used to control rodents and fleas from 1980 to 2003 when outbreaks occurred yearly. For over seven years ago commercial Carbaryl 5% powder has been used for controlling fleas in...
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| Published in: | Tanzania journal of health research Vol. 17; no. 2 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Health User's Trust Fund (HRUTF)
29-06-2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Background and Objective: Lushoto district has been an active focus of
plague disease since 1980 and many pesticides were used to control
rodents and fleas from 1980 to 2003 when outbreaks occurred yearly. For
over seven years ago commercial Carbaryl 5% powder has been used for
controlling fleas in the area. However, there is no current research to
substantiate its effectiveness either in the laboratory or in the
field. Methods: Immature stages of Xenopsylla brasiliensis were
collected from two villages in Lushoto and transported to Sokoine
University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro and reared in an insectary to
stock colony. Known weights of commercial Carbaryl 5% powder were
thoroughly mixed with known weights of clean fine sand as to obtain a
final concentration of 0.05% (WW) of Carbaryl/sand mixture. The same
concentration was suspended in 50cc distilled water and pieces of
filter paper were soaked in the solution, left at room temperature
until the suspension was fully adsorbed and the papers were left to
dry. Adult fleas of mixed ages and of both sexes were obtained from the
stock colony and exposed to both Carbaryl/sand mixture and
Carbaryl-adsorbed filter papers for various periods of time. Field
trials were carried out at Manolo and Viti villages where house and
rodent flea indices were determined before and after dusting with
commercial Carbaryl 5% powder. Results: In the laboratory tests, 100%
mortality occurred at 90 minutes exposure in Carbaryl/sand mixture
experiments and at 35 minutes exposure to Carbaryl-adsorbed filter
papers. LT50 in both sets of exposure was 48.2 min and 23.1 min in
Carbaryl/sand mixture and Carbaryl-coated filter papers tests
respectively. In field trials, X. brasiliensis and Pulex irritans
were the most abundant flea species. Post-dusting flea populations were
significantly lower in treated than in control houses (p=0.028). House
flea indices dropped from 7.7 to 0.33 and 37.8 to 0 in Viti and Manolo
villages respectively at 3 months post-dusting. Conclusion: Commercial
Carbaryl 5% powder in current use was still effective against potential
flea vectors in Lushoto. |
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| ISSN: | 1821-6404 |
| DOI: | 10.4314/thrb.v17i2XX |