Survey of Glossina Species and Other Haematophagous Flies in Bassa and Jos East Local Government Areas of Plateau State, Nigeria

Glossina species are considered the dominant and most significant biological vectors of Trypanosoma species to man and livestock leading to debilitating diseases with high socio-economic consequences. Routine surveillance to detect their presence is key to instituting early control measures to safeguard the health of livestock and human population. A survey to determine the presence of Glossina spp, distribution, their infection rate, and the occurrence of other haematophagous flies using biconical traps was undertaken in eight communities from May 2018 to October, 2018 in Jos East and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau state, Nigeria. Flies were morphologically identified and a Convention PCR using Species-specific primers was employed to screen Glossina species for the presences of Trypanosoma species DNA. A total of 6,938 biting flies were caught namely, Stomoxys calcitrans (n=3865; 55.7%), Haematopota spp (n=3070; 44.2%) and Glossina palpalis (n=3; 0.04%). There was no significant difference (χ2 = 6.6874, p = 0.1534) in overall occurrence of haematophagous flies in the two study areas. Two out of the three (66.7%) of G. palpalis were positive for T. brucei DNA with the amplification of a 480-bp of the Variable Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) gene of T. brucei. The presence of G. palpalis in the study areas and the detection of T. brucei DNA in the fly tissues buttress the role of this fly in the epidemiology of Trypanosomiasis in the study area and debunked the long-held notion of tsetse and trypanosome free status of the Jos Plateau. There is need for routine vector surveillance and control measures to reduce the risk of trypanosome transmission to both animals and humans in the area.