Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on high-workload facilities: a case study of Glossina palpalis gambiensis productivity at the insectarium in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Résumé

To combat animal African trypanosomosis and its vectors, various control strategies have been implemented, including chemical and biological approaches, with the goal of eradication. Among these strategies, the control of these diseases within the context of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) utilizing the sterile insect technique (SIT) has emerged as the most efficacious. Consequently, the establishment of the Insectarium de Bobo-Dioulasso (IBD) was undertaken to fulfil the demand for sterile tsetse fly males. However, the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic necessitated the implementation of restrictive measures at IBD from April to November 2020. In this study, we assess the repercussions of these measures on tsetse fly mass rearing at IBD, specifically their impact on environmental parameters, blood quantity and quality, colony size, and productivity for two strains of Glossina palpalis gambiensis, namely CIRDES and SEIBERSDORF strains. Data were collected during the 2020 period and subsequently subjected to analysis.

The measures instituted during the Covid-19 pandemic had no discernible adverse effects on environmental conditions of rearing rooms. However, a reduction in the volume of collected and utilized blood was observed, leading to the reduction of the flies feeding frequency from four to three times per week. Consequently, pupal production decreased, colony size fell in both strains and sterile male pupal shipments for the eradication program of Senegal were stopped. Based on these findings, precautionary measures have been delineated to address potential similar crises in the future.