Chapter 5

Vector and rodent control

 Objectives
After completing this chapter, students will be able to
Define terms

Enumerate the different types of vectors

Explain how diseases are transmitted by vectors

Explain how to control arthropods and rodents

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 Definitions
 vectors :- are arthropods or other invertebrates which transmit infection
by inoculation into or through the skin or mucous membrane by biting or by
deposit of infective materials on the skin or on food or other objects
Arthropods:
• “Arthro” means jointed and “Poda” means legs.
• are invertebrate animals that have jointed legs, a segmented body, and
an exoskeleton made of chitin.
Rodent: small animals with large gnawing incisor teeth that continue
growing throughout the animal's life.
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 Cont…
Insecticides: are substances or an agent that kill insects or other
arthropods.

Entomology: It is a science that deals with the study of arthropods in

general

Medical Entomology: is a branch of entomology which deals with

arthropods which affect the health and well-being of man and vertebrate
animals.

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 How vectors affect the health of man?

A. Causing diseases

B. Transmitting of disease agents

C. Food destruction or damage

D. Entomophobia

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 In Ethiopia;

5 million 3 million
1 million
Schistosomiasis Onchocerciasis
Malaria
cases/yr cases/yr
cases/yr

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 Disease transmission mechanism

1. Mechanical disease transmission

 The vector may carry the infective agent on its body or limbs, or the

infective agents may be ingested by the vector passing through its

body unmodified and excreted in feces.

e.g. Housefly which transmit typhoid fever, cholera, polio, Trachoma

2. Biological disease transmission
 The disease agent multiplies or undergoes some developmental
changes with or without multiplication in the arthropod host.
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 Cont…
2.1. Propagative: only the number of pathogens increases and the
developmental stage remain constant. E.g. plague and typhus

2.2. Cyclo-developmental: In this type of disease only the developmental

stage (form) of the disease pathogen changed (immature to matured
stage, etc.) while the number of the pathogenic organism remain constant.
e.g. filarial parasite in culex mosquito

2.3. Cyclo-propagative: is a combination of both propagative and cyclo-

developmental where by the disease pathogen under take a change both
in number and developmental form (stage). E.g. Malaria.
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 Cont…
3. Transovarian (Hereditary) disease transmission

 It is a type of disease transmission whereby the causative agent is

transmitted to the immature stage (usually the egg) from the adult insects
and/or other arthropods which carry the disease pathogens.

 When the infected egg complete its developmental stage, it becomes

infective or can transmit the disease to man or other animals.

 Eg. Tick- borne relapsing fever

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 The various vectors include

Flies

Generally of two types

1. Non-biting flies 2. Biting flies

• Tsetse fly
• Common House fly (CHF) • Black fly
• Blow fly • Sand fly
• Horse or deer fly
• Flesh fly • Mosquitoes

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 Cont…
1. Common house flies
• House flies are commonly called domestic flies because
of their close association with man.

• CHF is a black colored and small sized insect.

• The female lies white visible eggs

• Eggs are deposited on filth area such as

human waste, animal dropping, rubbish, etc,.

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 Cont…
Feeding
- Because of their structure of their mouth, food must be either in the liquid
state or readily in the salivary gland secretions.
Habit of adult flies
• They are mainly active during the day
• They feed and mate during the day time
• At night, they normally rest although they adapt to some extent to
artificial light.
Public health importance
• Nuisance
• Disease transmission such as typhoid, bacillary dysentery trachoma…

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 Cont…
House Fly Control
1. Identification of house fly

2. Clean up or remove breeding sites

3. Elimination of the adult flies

a. Wire screening of doors and windows

b. Mechanical knocking down of the fly

c. Residual insecticides as DDT.

4. Health education and personal hygiene

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 Cont…
2. Blow fly/ Bluebottles

• They can be green, blue, or black with metallic reflections.

• All adults have large, noticeable reddish-brown eyes.

• Their breeding place is on waste, decaying animal matter and some lay or „blow‟
their egg on fresh meat and make human food unfit

• Some species lay their eggs on wounds and result in myiasis particularly on sheep,
goat and cattle.

• Others lay their eggs on wound and the developing worm damage the neighboring
tissue. Example Lucilia illustries.

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 Cont...
Public health importance

• Responsible to cause myiasis

Prevention and control of Blow fly

• Basic sanitation

• Application of insecticides

• pyrethrin's are the best but DDT(5% or 10%) can be used

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 Cont…
3. Flesh Fly

• When compared to CHF, they are larger in size, and have grayish color.

• Characteristics of flesh flies

• Most flesh flies breed in feces, decaying material and other wastes, but a
few species lay their eggs in the open wounds of mammals

• Some flesh fly larvae are internal parasites of other insects.

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 Cont…
Public health importance of flesh fly

• Can carry leprosy bacilli

• Can cause myiasis

• Nuisance

Control measures

• Basic sanitation

• Insecticides

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 Cont…
4. Tsetse fly

• Occur in tropical Africa

• They are yellowish or dark brown, medium sized flies

• Their breeding sites and habitats are located close to rivers

• Mostly in trees, bushes, and scrub, where cattle rest

• Both sexes feed on blood

• Bite at dusk & day

• high pitched buzzing sounds

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 Cont…
Differentiating features

– Forward pointing mouth parts

– Wings like crossed scissors at rest

Public health importance

• Nuisance

• Disease transmission (sleeping sickness or Trypanosomiasis) to man

and animals.

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 Cont…
Prevention and control

1. Cleaning of forest and bushy habitat (abandoned nowadays)

2. Traps and insecticide impregnated screens

3. Application of insecticide

4. Repellants

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 Cont…
5. Black fly

• They are small, stout and fat bodied

• Usually black in color, although some are yellow or orange

• They have relatively larger eyes that occupy most of the head

• Black flies bite by the day and out of the doors

• Only the female sucks the blood but both sexes feed on plant juice

• Biting usually takes place along river banks

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 Cont…
Public health importance
• Nuisance
• The bits of these flies cause localized swelling and inflammation
accompanied by intense irritation lasting for several days
• Human onchocerciasis (River blindness)

Prevention and control

Adult are difficult to control because they can fly up to 100 miles

So control of larvae is most important

Larvicide ( Abate) is used to control larvae

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 Cont…
Personal protection methods (Clothing, Repellants)

Avoid washing the body in fast flowing streams.

Drug treatment: Ivermectin a single dose of drug needs to be taken

annually

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 Cont…
5. Sand fly

General features
• They have a characteristic hopping flight with many short flights and
landings
• In contrast to other biting flies, the wing is held erect over the body when at
rest.
• Only females bite.
• Mostly feeding takes place outdoors but a few feeds indoors
• Because of their short mouth parts, they cannot bite through clothing

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 Cont…
• They breed in cracks in walls, under rocks and stones, where high
humidity and moderate temperature are available.

• Unlike mosquitoes, they do not breed in water.

Medical importance
• Nuisance
• Leishmaniasis
Prevention and control
1. residual sprays of insecticides applied to walls, screens, fences, etc.
2. Personal protection methods (Clothing, Repellants)
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 Cont…
6. Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are the most important group of arthropods of medical and

veterinary importance.

Mosquito wings have scales

Have long segmented antennae

Long piercing, sucking proboscis

Can be distinguished from other insects
• Mouthpart-Proboscis
• Scales

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 Cont…
Mosquitoes can be sexed by examining their antenna

• Males-feathery antenna where as females possess short-invisible antenna

Males are distinctly smaller than females and having no audible sound during flight

Male mosquito feed on nectar or fruit

Female mosquito feed blood meal so she can produce eggs for the next
generation.

 The majority of mosquito species fall into three groups:

 the anophelines,
the culicines and
the aedines.
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 Cont…
Anopheles mosquito
• There are approximately 400 Anopheles species, of which 30-40 transmit
four different species of parasites of the genus Plasmodium that cause
malaria which affects humans in endemic areas.
• Anopheles gambiae is one of the best known, because of its predominant
role in the transmission of the most dangerous plasmodium falciparum

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 Cont…
Culex mosquito Aedes mosquito
Public health importance Public health importance
• Nuisance • Nuisance
• Lymphatic Filariasis • Yellow fever
• Dengue & Dengue hemorrhagic
fever

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Public health importance
• Nuisance
• Malaria
• Filariasis
• Yellow feve
• Dengue fever
• Chikungunya feve

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 Cont…
Breeding site

• Anopheles: breeds in clean fresh and stagnant water (lakes, swamps, and pools);
transmits malaria; needs blood meal for the development of viable eggs.

• Culex: breads in dirty water (drains, cesspools), transmit filariasis, interferes in

human comfort (disturbance during sleeping).

• Aedes aegypti: breeds in near houses in water containers (cans, bottles, old
tires), transmits yellow fever and dengue fever that are arbo-viral origin.

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 Cont…
 Prevention measures includes:
 Use of Insecticide treated net
 Larvicides
 Personal protection measures and repellents
 Use of window & door screens,
 Environmental management: eradication of favorable leaving env‟t
 Breeding sites and resting areas
Draining, filling
Proper disposal of empty cans
Proper waste management

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 Lice
• There are three types of human louse: the head louse, body louse and
public louse
• All of them are wingless biting insects
• Lice are permanent ectoparasites spend their whole life on host body.
• Male, female and nymph are blood sucking stages
• Being bitten by lice is painful, disturbing and embarrassing, and may
cause an allergic reaction.
• Medical impportance: epidemic Typhus, epidemic Relapsing fever
control measures
 Insecticides (permethrin),
 Personal hygiene,
 laundering of garments
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 Bedbugs
• Bedbugs are notorious night-biting insects.
• They are typically found in houses with poor housing sanitation and are
abundant in poor urban and rural areas.
Medical importance:
• Biting nuisance
• Intense itching
• Sleepless night
Control measures
proper house maintenance
Application of insecticide

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 Fleas
• Adult fleas are temporary ectoparasites of warm-blooded animals.

• There are human, rat, cat, bird and dog fleas,

• but they can all readily feed on other species in the absence of their
primary host.

• Both sexes are blood suckers

Medical importance: Flea Nuisance, Allergic dermatitis, Vector of Plague

Control measures

Insecticide application
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 RODENTS
Types of rodents of public health importance

1. Roof rat (Black rat)- 2. Norway rat (Brown rat)

3. House mouse- Mus
Rattus rattus - Rattus novergicus domesticus

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 public health importance
Rat bite: Bites can cause serious injuries to the victims.

• Infants, children and adults may be exposed to the risk of rat- bite

Rat - bite fever: is a disease caused by a spirochete organism which may be harbored in
the mouth, particularly on the gum of rats.

• The organism enters through wounds inflicted by the rat - bite.

• Diseases which are transmitted indirectly by foods or water contaminated by the rat‟s
excreta and urine

e.g. Salmonellosis: - a common food borne disease due to contamination of the food by
faeces / urine containing salmonella organism,

Trichinosis: is contracted by eating infected pork

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 Control of Rodents
Environmental control
 Proper storage, collection & disposal of solid wastes, particularly
garbage
 Good house keeping and maintenance
 Use of rat proofing buildings
Biological control
 By use of predators such as cats
 This method is unacceptable from hygienic ground, particularly in
food premises
Rodenticides
Trapping

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Thank you!