Lecture six

•Vector control

1
Layout

• Define vector
• Identify different types of vector of medical
importance
• Explain vector control measures
• Explain limitations and delimitations of each control
measures

2
 Hx.

• At the end of the nineteenth century, researchers

discovered that certain species of insect were
responsible for the transmission of some serious
diseases to humans.
• Since effective vaccines or drugs were not available
for these diseases, the only means of prevention was
to destroy these insects (vectors), to prevent the
diseases from spreading

3
HX
• The discovery of the insecticide Dichloro diphenyl
trichloro ethane (DDT) was a major breakthrough in
the control of vector borne diseases, In the 1950s and
early 1960s, programs were organized in many
countries
• programs were largely successful, but vectors
developed the so called resistance to the pesticides in
use, creating a need for new and more expensive
chemicals.
• Due to this fact, many scholars are now advocating the
importance of environmental change as an effective
and first line control strategy for vector
4
 Definition;
• Host: An organism which harbours or nourishes
another organism (parasite).

- "parasite" is an organism which lives on or inside

another organism (usually larger than itself) on
which it depends for food and shelter.
- means a eukaryotic, pathogenic organism. Thus,
protozoan and metazoan infectious agents are
classified as parasites, while bacteria and viruses
are not.

5
 Cont..
A vector may be any arthropod or animal which carries and
transmits infectious pathogens directly or indirectly from
an infected animal to a human or from an infected human to
another human.
- This can occur via biting (e.g. mosquitoes, tsetse flies),
penetration (e.g.guinea worm), or the gastrointestinal tract
(e.g. contaminated food or drink).
- Vectors generally do not become ill, they might accrue
some damages to their tissues, but in some cases this
damage actually makes them more likely to transmit and
infect. example; mosquito with problems in its feeding
apparatus will need to take an additional bite to complete
blood meal, or A flea with a gut clogged with plague
bacteria will regurgitate more 6
cont..

• Definitive Host - This the host where adult

parasite lives or where parasite reaches sexual
maturity and sexual mode of reproduction takes
place - E.g. Man for filaria, roundworm,
hookworm etc
• Intermediate Host- host where the larva
stages lives or where asexual multiplication
takes place -This host is required by parasite to
complete its life cycle E.g. Man for malaria,
hydatid disease
7
cont..,
• reservoir host - host that serve as a source of infection
and potential reinfection of humans and as a means of
sustaining a parasite when it is not infecting humans.
Eg. human for person to person transmitted diseases
(STDs, mumps, measles)
• Rodents:- comprise a great number of mammals,
ranging in size from the rats and mice to as large as the
Porcupines and which belong to the order rodentia
• Arbo viruses (arthropod borne viruses): are viruses’
that are transmitted from one vertebrate to the other by
the help of arthropods

8
 Some examples of vectors
vectors diseases
mosquitos
- Anopheles Malaria, lymphatic filariasis
- Culex Lymphatic filariasis, Japanese encephalitis
- Aedes Yellow fever, dengue, lymphatic filariasis,
chikungunya, zika virus
- Mansonia Lymphatic filariasis
Tsetse flies African sleeping sickness
Black flies River blindness (onchocerciasis
Sand flies Leishmaniasis, sandfly fever
Horseflies Loiasis, tularaemia
Biting midges Mansonellosis (usually symptomless)
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 cont
Triatomine bug Chagas disease
ticks Lyme disease, typhus, tick – borne
encephalitis
mites Scrub typhus, scabies
Body lice Typhus fever, louse borne relapsing fever
Intermediate host and possible vector of disease
House flies, Intestinal, skin and eye infections
cockroaches
Gastropods (fresh Schistosomiasis, liverfluke disease
water snail)
Cyclops(crustaceans) Guinea worm disease

10
 Types of vector
• Pathogens are transmitted either mechanically( e.g
trachoma by non biting flies) to a susceptible host, or
after biological transformation (eg. Malaria by
mosquito) to a definitive host.

Mechanical SUSCEPTIBLE HOST

RESERVOIR VECTOR

pathogen
biological DEFINITIVE HOST

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Types of vector

1. Biological vectors - are vectors that transmit

disease pathogens after the multiplication or
development of the pathogen in the insect gut or
muscle. E.g. malarial mosquito
2. Mechanical vectors- are vectors that transmit
pathogenic Microorganisms without undertaking
any developmental change.
- Transmit pathogens by transporting them on their
feet or mouthparts. Eg. Housefly, Filth Flies,
Blowfly, Cockroaches

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 vector borne diseases
• Vector borne diseases are diseases caused by disease
vectors
• Treatment of these diseases are difficult and the
prevention essentially necessitates the elimination of
the vector
• Seriousness of vectors because of their ability to
transmit the disease at larger scale in shorter time.

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Ways of Vector Borne Disease Transmission
1. Mechanical disease transmission:- transmission in
which the vector is no more than a carrier that transmit
pathogens without any change either on the number or
form of disease pathogens. Example-Trachoma.
2. Biological disease transmission: In this transmission
certain developmental pattern exists either in the vector
or host or in both cases. It is sub-divided into
- Propagative: where pathogens increases and the
developmental stage remain constant. plague and typhus
are a good examples

14
Cont..
- Cyclo-developmental: In this type only the
developmental stage (form) of pathogen changed
(small to big, immature to matured stage, etc.) while
the number of the pathogenic organism remain
constant
- Cyclo-propagative: This type of disease
transmission 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.

15
 Cont..

3. Trans ovarian (Hereditary)disease transmission:-

is a type of disease transmission where by the causative
agent is transmitted to the immature stage ( usually to
egg ) from the adult insects and / or other arthropods
who carry disease pathogens and when the infected egg
complete its developmental stage, it become infective
or can transmit the disease to man and other animals.
Ticks are very good examples of arthropods that exhibit
hereditary disease transmission

16
 Risk factors for vector borne diseases

• Include
- Immunity and disease status; stress, lack of good nutrition and
lack of previous exposure lower immunity
- Increased exposure to vectors; displaced population,
overcrowding and poor housing
- Increased number of breeding site; poorly drained water,
domestic water container
- Poor hygiene and sanitation
- Interruption of vector control measures; lack of resources
- Access to basic treatment; breakdown of health infrastructure,
overwhelming of health services
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 Main vectors often involved in vector-borne
disease epidemics
• The major group of pathogen vectors are
ARTHROPODS and include mosquitoes, flies, biting
midges, ticks, mites, fleas, bugs, lice and other
• Features of arthropods;
- Coelomate,
- Bilateral Symmetry,
- Exoskeleton – made of protein and chitin,
- Jointed appendages – any structure (leg or antennae)
that grows out of the body

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Classification of arthropods
Kingdom invertebrate animals.
phylum Arthropod
class Insecta, Arachnida, Diplopoda, Chilopoda and
Crustacea
order diptera, anoplura, coleoptera, hemiptera,
hymenoptera, lepidoptera, orthoptera,
siphonaptera, mallophaga, isoptera, homoptera
and odonata.

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1. Mosquitoes as vectors
• Have a world wide distribution with more than 3000
spp, but only few (about 100) with medical importance
• Transmit malaria, filariasis & arboviruses
•Mosquitoes belong to: Class  Insecta, Order 
Diptera,
Family  Culicidae
•Sub-family  Anophelinae & Culicinae
•Anophelines  Genus Anopheles malaria & filariasis
vectors
•Culicines  Genera Culex, Aedes & Mansonia  filarial
vectors. Aedes also transmits YF & RVF (Arboviruses)
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•Cosmopolitan  Tropics & Sub-Tropics
 Morphology of mosquitoes
• Adult: slender & relatively small, measure 4 – 6 mm in
length; body divided into head, thorax & abdomen.
• one pair of functional wing -Two wings (Diptera), scales
on thorax, legs, abdomen & wings.
• Mouthparts collectively proboscis (projects
conspicuously forward).
• Proboscis - a labium (largest component), labrum,
hypopharynx & two pairs of maxilla & mandibles are
adapted for biting by females.
• Non-biting males - mandibles & maxillae reduced in size
or absent
• Three pairs of long thin legs
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Mosquito Characteristics

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 Mosquito biology and identification
Feature Anopheles Aedes Culex
Species of Anopheles gambiae Aedes aegypti Culex
public health Anopheles funestus quinquefasciatus
importance
Egg deposit Deposit individual eggs on Deposit individual Deposit eggs in rafts
water surface eggs inside container on water surface
just above water
surface
larvae Larvae rest parallel to Larvae hang down at Larvae hang down at
water surface an angle suspended an angle suspended
by breathing tube by breathing tube

adult Have long palps and rest Have short palps and Short palps and rest
against wall with straight rest hunched up hunched up against
back against the wall the wall
flight Less than 2 km Less than 2 km Less than 2 km
Biting time Later night (11 pm 6am) During the day Earlier in the evining
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stages in the life cycle of anopheline and
culicine mosquitoes.

24
Mosquito life cycle
• Mosquito undergo complete metarmophosis (Egg,
larva, pupa and adult)

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Life cycle: eggs larvae pupa adults

I) Blood feeding & gonotrophic cycle

• Mating occurs shortly after emergence from pupa.
• Sperms passed into the ♀ spermatheca (fertilize all
eggs in her lifetime). Most ♀s need a blood meal for
the development of eggs in the ovaries.
• Takes 2 – 3 days (tropics), 7 – 14 days (temperate) to
digest blood meal & fully formed eggs.
Life cycle contd..

• Gravid ♀ searches for suitable larval habitat to

lay eggs.
• After oviposition, the cycle repeats, a further
batch of eggs is matured, followed by
oviposition.
• Process repeated several times of her life
(gonotrophic cycle).
Oviposition & biology of eggs

• Depending on species, ♀s lay about 30 – 300

brownish or blackish eggs at any one
oviposition.
• In many Culicines, the eggs are elongated or
approximately ovoid in shape.
• In Anophelines, the eggs are boat shaped
• Many mosquitoes such as species of
Anopheles, Culex and some Mansonia lay
their eggs directly on the water surface.
Oviposition & biology of eggs contd..

• In Anopheles, eggs are laid singly and float on water

whereas those of Culex and some Mnsonia are laid
stuck together in “egg rafts” which float on the water
surface.
• The eggs hatch within 2 – 3 days (tropics) 7 – 14
days in cooler temperate countries.
• In Aedes, the eggs are laid just above the water line
on dump substrates (mud, leaves, tree holes, clay
pots.
Larval biology

• Larvae are legless, have a bulbous thorax that is

wider than both the head and abdomen.
• Larvae develop through 4 active instars, water is
obligatory for development.
• Larvae of Anopheles, Culex and Aedes must come to
the water surface to breath.
• Anopheles larvae lie parallel with the water surface;
breathe though its respiratory spiracles on the 8th
tergite.
Larval biology contd..

• Culex & Aedes larvae lie at an angle to the water

surface; breathe through a siphon located at the 8 th
tergite.
• Mansonia larvae have a specialized siphon (conical,
pointed tip with serrated cutting structures) that
penetrate the roots or stems of aquatic plants to obtain
oxygen.
• Mosquito larvae feed on yeast, bacteria, protozoa &
other microorganism.
Larval habitats

Larval habitats vary from:

• Large (usually permanent) water collections
(fresh water swamps, marshes, rice fields &
borrow pits) TO
• Small collections of temporary water (small
pools, puddles, hoof prints etc to water filed
tree holes, leaf axils, coconut shells etc).
Larval habitats contd..

• Any collection of permanent or temporary

water can constitute larval habitat.
• Larvae are usually absent from large expanses
of uninterrupted waters e.g lakes & especially
if there are large numbers of fish & other
predators.
• Larvae also absent from large rivers & fast
flowing waters except in marshy and isolated
pools formed at the edges.
Larval activity – breeding sites for mosquitoes

•.

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Pupal biology

• All mosquito pupae are aquatic and comma-shaped.

• Head & thorax combined cephalothorax with a pair
of respiratory trumpets dorsally.
• Pupae do not feed, spend most time at water surface
taking air.
• Pupal period 2 – 3 days (tropics) or 9 – 12 days or
more (cooler temperate regions).
• At the end of pupal life, the cephalothorax splits and
the adult mosquito emerges out.
Adult mosquitoes
• Adults emerge from the pupal case, After a short rest,
they take flight.
• Blood sucking follows within 24 hrs.
• Adult mosquitoes differ greatly in their , feeding and
resting habits
• Some prefer to feed on man (anthropophilic); some
prefer to feed on animals (zoophilic).
• Some feed indoors (endophagic) and some outdoors
(exophagic).
• Some rest indoors; some outdoors in the bush, etc
• Some rest on walls after feeding; some don’t land on
walls
Adult mosquito- habits
• All female mosquitoes have antennae that are thinly
scattered across their bodies, males have bushy
antennae.
• Male mosquito mate with two or three females and
drink plant juice( cannot take blood meal) female
mates once and store sperm in special sac to fertilise
every batch of egg she produces
• Female lives for one to two weeks and undergo
oviposit cycle up to seven times and lay about 30 -300
eggs at one oviposition, male die just after few days
 Adult Anopheles mosquitoe

Adult female Anopheles feeding: wings 

dark & pale scales (in distinct blocks on
veins)
Mouth parts of Anopheles sp. mosquitos

Plasmodium spp. infections are transmitted to humans

by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito (top).
- Males (bottom) are physiologically capable of
supporting parasite development, but since they do
not feed on blood, they cannot transmit infection.
- Males are easily recognized by the plumose hairs on
their antennae.
- This genus of mosquito can be identified by its palps,
which are almost as long as the proboscis, and the 45-
degree angle at which it sits when resting or feeding.
Control of Anopheles: Measures against adults

• Use of ITNs – protect against bite

• House screens – windows & doors
• Use of repellants – oils, creams, lotions, coils
• Site selection – for housing, camping, recreational
places
• Zooprophylaxis- for zoophylic species i.e put an
animal shield in between breeding sites and human
settlements
• Insectides spray inside houses has received a renewed
interest after the WHO recommendation to re-deploy
DDT for residual insecticide spray (IRS).
Mosquito net: LLNs (long lasting insecticide
treated net – Ngao ya muda mrefu ie 5 yrs
Control of Anopheles: Measures against larvae

• Environmental modification – reduction of breeding

sites by draining stagnant waters (limited
applicability).
• Larvicides / insecticides – Larviciding possible where
breeding sites can be delineated (urban set ups);
• Biological control – use of fish which eat mosquito
larvae; bacteria (e.g bacillus thuringiensis) that
excrete larval toxins (also limited to urban areas). A
pilot study deploying Bacillus Thuriengiensis (BT) is
currently being undertaken in urban Dar es Salaam.
Medical importance of mosquitoes

• Biting nuisance
• Mosquito borne diseases
- Anopheles – vector for malaria and filariasis
- Aedes – vector for yellow fever and dengue
- Culex – vector for filariasis and encephalitis

44
 2. Non- biting flies
• Common species of fly borne diseases;
- flies are known mechanical vector of intestinal infection
such as dysentery and typhoid, also transmit poliomyelitis
and eye infections such as trachoma.
- Flies hover around food, garbage and human and animal
waste
Common name Scientific name Breeding site
House fly Musca domestica Refuse, faeces
Filth fly M. sorbens Human faeces
Bush fly M. vestutissima Cattle droppings
Blow fly Chrysomya spp Latrines, meat, fish
Flesh fly Sarcophaga spp Animal faeces

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Myiasis Producing Flies

• Three Main Families:

– (1) Calliphoridae (2) Sarcophagidae
– (3) Oestridae

• Black Blow Fly

• Livestock Myiasis causing flies

 Calliphoridae: Non-Metallic Flies

• Cordylobia anthropophaga
Life-Cycle
• Eggs  Larvae  Pupae  Adult
• Females lay 100-300 eggs. (1-3 days)
• Larvae attach to host or washed clothing placed on
ground.
• 8-12 days larvae wriggle out of boil to ground.
• Larvae bury themselves and then pupate
• Adults emerge (feed on rotting fruit, carrion, and
feces).
Calliphoridae: Metallic Flies

• Cochliomyia hominivorax
Calliphoridae: Metallic Flies

• Lucilia
spp.
Maggot Therapy
• Has been used for centuries.
• American Civil War (1861-65)
• Recently rediscovered and
FDA approved for use.
• Usually Greenbottle flies are
used.
Sarcophagidae: Flesh-Flies
• Sarcophaga spp.
Other Myiasis Causing Flies
• Black Blow Fly
– Breeds mainly on carrion

• Several species of flies cause myiasis in livestock.

• Occasionally humans become infected.

• Several species of flies cause myiasis in wildlife.

 Muscidae / House fly
• Musca domestica - house-fly
mechanical transmission of many pathogens,
accidental myiasis
• Identification
- medium sized (1/6 to 1/4 inch long,)
- generally gray in color with the female usually
large than the male.
- The thorax bears four narrow black stripes.
- The female fly has a much wider space between
the eyes than the male.
• Metamorphosis: Complete (egg, larva, and
pupa, adult). Maggots (larva) are usually small,
white legless worms without an obvious head.
54
Stable-flies, Latrine-flies

• Muscina stabulans - greater house-fly

mechanical transmission, accidental myiasis
• Stomoxys calcitrans - stable fly
biting pest (human and veterinary pest)
• Fannia sp. - lesser house-fly and latrine fly
mechanical transmission, accidental myiasis
Breeding places

• Human excreta: whenever exposed in open latrines,

seepage pits, septic tanks or in open field.
• Animal wastes: horse manure, cow-dung,etc.
whenerer moist and decomposing.
• Garbage: whenever moist and exposed.
• any moist, rotting organic matter

56
Public Health importance

• The housefly is known as a mechanical transmitter

of disease agents, it carries through its body parts
disease agents (pathogens) from sources of
infections to foods, food contact surfaces, to human
eyes, and other exposed body parts. (diarrhea,
Shigellosis , Dysentery, Typhoid)
• Nuisance: The presence of flesh flies in the living
environment is undesirable
• Myiasis: is an illness condition that occurs while the
larvae of the Diapterans burry it self under the skin.

57
Medical Importance

• Cause boil-like swellings.

• Infections prevented by not spreading clothes on the
ground.
• Dogs and rats are commonly infected.
Myiasis
• is the infestation of tissue with fly larvae,
commonly referred to as maggots. It is
widespread in the tropics and subtropics of
Africa and the Americas, and occurs with
significantly less frequency in most other
areas of the world. The infestation is most
often subcutaneous and produces a
furunculoid or boil-like lesion, but it is also
known to occur in wounds and certain
body cavities.
Control of Myiasis Species
• Control or eradication of the fly population -
through environmental sanitation or chemical
control.

• Avoidance of infestation- do not sleep outdoors or

on the ground during fly activity, dress or cover
wounds to avoid fly strikes, use screening

• Rx of infestation (remove larvae - antibiotic

follow-up)
 RX
• Treatment should be immediate!
• Irrigate infested areas with ethanol + Veggie
oil or Cover the small hole with med. Liquid
paraffin.
– Gently press around the swelling
– Some forms of myiasis may require surgery.
3. Biting flies

• Suck blood and cause pain and transmit diseases

- Tsetse flies – sleeping sickness (trypanasomiasis)
- Sand flies – transmit leishmaniasis
- Black flies(simulium blackflies) – transmit
onchocerciasis (river blindness)

62
Black fly

• Both male and female blackflies feed

on plant juices and naturally occurring
sugary substances, but only females
take blood- meals.
• classification
- Class: Insecta;
- Order: Diptera;
- Family: Simulidae;
- Genus: Simulium;
- Species: -damnosum, neavei
64
 © Copyright 1997 OCP/APOC/WHO.

Blindness caused by onchocerciasis

Nigeria, Africa, 1998, Uganda, Africa, 1996
WHO/TDR/Crump
WHO/TDR/Crump

The Simulium blackfly vectors Fast-flowing waters in rivers

breed in fast-flowing river water are ideal breeding sites for
such as this, and threaten those the blackfly.
farming fertile riverside land
with infection and blindness.
Onchocerciasis Control
Vector Control - The principal method for controlling
onchocerciasis has been to break the cycle of transmission by
eliminating the black fly. Simulium larvae are destroyed by
application of selected insecticides through aerial spraying of
breeding sites in fast-flowing rivers. Once the cycle of river
blindness has been interrupted for 14 years the reservoir of adult
worms dies out in the human population, thus eliminating the
source of the disease.
Ivermectin Treatment - To complement vector control
activities, the drug ivermectin is distributed where needed
through a community directed approach. Ivermectin kills the
larval worms that cause blindness and other onchocercal
manifestations and acts to decrease transmission as well.
Public Health Importance

• Nuisance - cause a very serious bitting problem,

• Onchocerciasis / river blindness is the disease

transmitted by the female black fly. Repeated
infection affects the eyes that lead to blindness.

69
Phlobotaminae /Sand Fly

• Sand flies (Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia spp.)

- Class: Insecta;
- Order: Diptera;
- Family: Psychodidae;
- Genus: Phlebotomous, Psychoda
- Species : Ph. Longipes , Ph. Longerni, Ph.
Orientalis, Ph. Papatasi, Ph. Chinesis;

70
Sand flies and Disease

• Harara: Severe reactions due to attacks of

sandflies in persons previously exposed to
and sensitized to their bites.
• Severe biting nuisance
• Vectors of several forms of leishmaniasis
• Sandfly fever
• Oroya fever or Carrion’s disease.

71
Morphology of sand fly
• minute size (1.3-3.5
mm in length),
• hairy appearance,
• relatively large black
eyes and
• their relatively long
and stilt-like legs

72
 Public Health importance of phlebotamus
sand fly
• Nuisance - constitute a serious, but usually localized
bitting nuisance
• importance as disease vectors Leishmaniasis

73
 Glossinidae / Tsetse fly
• Tsetse is the vector of African trypanosomiasis or
African sleeping sickness, which may be caused by
either Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or
Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.
• Tsetse flies are generally confined to the area of
tropical Africa, south of the Tropic of Cancer
• Both males and females are avid blood feeders and
can fly at speeds over 20 miles per hour

74
Tsetse flies (glossina)
• The genus Glossina includes about 20 species of
tsetse flies, several of which are intermittent hosts of
the trypanosomes of man and animals.
• classification
– Class: Insecta;
– Order: Diptera;
– Family: Glossinidae;
– Genus: Glossina;
– Species: - Glossina palpalis, G. morsitans, G. tachinoides,
G. pallidipes, G. swynnertoni and G. fuscipes.
Glossina
Morphology
• The yellow, brown, or black flies, 6-13 mm, are
distinguished by:
– The resting position of the wings, which fold over
each other like scissors
– The slender, horizontal proboscis with its bulbous
base
– The branched, curved bristles on the arista of the
three-jointed antennae.The arista is the prominent
bristle on the largest, distal, segment of the
antenna.
Vectors of Disease

• Tsetse flies are important vectors of trypanosomiasis

of man and domesticated animals
• At least 6 species are vectors of trypanosomal
infections of domesticated animals.
• The vectors of T.b. rhodesiese are G. morsitans, G.
swynnertoni, and G. pallidipes.
• The chief vectors of T.b. gambiese are: G. palpalis,
G. fuscipes, and G. tachinoides.
Control
• For riverine tsetse:
– Clearing trees and bush from stretches of river
bank at least 80 yds x 50-150 yds wide ne water
holes and crossings.
– Erection of barrier clearings to prevent the passage
of flies along the river courses
– Selective removal of shrubs and trees along the
stream
– Adult flies can be reduced by hand-cathing,
trapping, and by insecticides.
Control contd.

• For woodland tsetse:

– Barrier clearance to isolate blocks of infested
country by removing the upper canopy of trees
– Clearance of tracts for agricultural purposes
– Selective bush clearance
– Trapping of flies
– Use of insecticides e.g. Dieldrin, BHC, and DDT to
eliminate residual flies
– Selective destruction of wild game.
– Sterile male technique.
Public Health importance

• Nuisance -cause painful bites

-buzzing sound
• Human trypanosomiasis

81
Rodents and fleas

• Rats – transmit disease through their fleas, eg plague

(Yersinia pestis) also can transmit through their
excreta like leptospirosis, salmonellosis, hanta virus
and lassa fever
- Rat bites transmit pathogen that cause fever and
rabies

82
 Siphonaptera (fleas)
Morphology
• Adults: Small (1-4 mm ) size. Oval in shape laterally compressed-
light to dark brown in color
• Wings are absent. Three pairs of powerful legs. Hind legs
specialized for jumping.
• Head is triangular with a pair of conspicuous black eyes ( few
species are eyeless).
• Antennae: short, 3 segmented and club shaped.
• life cycle of fleas which may occur on humans or animals, such as
dogs, cats and commensal rats
• A female flea, which is ready to oviposit, may leave the host to
deposit her eggs in debris

83
84
Public Health Importance

• Flea Nuisance - annoyance caused by their bites

leading to discomfort and irritation
• Plague is caused by yersinia pestis and is primarily a
disease of wild animals, especially rodents, not
people.
• humans are often commonly invaded by Tunga and
they may provide a local reservoir of infection

85
Control of Fleas

• Treatment of infested animals: Cat and dog fleas,

Insecticidal powders can be applied
• Treatment of the Environment: Fleas are generally
found away from the host not on it
• Rodent Control: Rodenticides such as anticoagulants
e.g. Warfin and fumarin or fast acting ‘one dose”
rodenticides eg. Zinc phosphide bromadiolone and
chlorophacinone
• Personal protection: Insecticidal repellants such as
Dimethyl phthalate, Diethyltoluamide or benzil
benzoate
86
Other vectors
• Lice – only body lice are vector
- Bites of body lice cause skin irritation ang infections
- Epidemic typhus transmited by contaminated lice
faeces
• Mites- scabies and other skin infections
• Snails- are intermediate host for schistosoma fluke that
cause schistosomiasis
• Cockroaches –contaminate food and transmit
poliomyelitis and intestinal viruses
• Bed bugs – bites and cause discomfort, and in children
may show sign of anemia
87
Anoplura/ lice

• Class Insecta
• Order Anoplura
• Family Pediculidae - the
lice.
• There are two species
parasitizing humans
1.Pediculus humanus (head
& body lice)
2.Phthirus pubis (crab louse)

88
Identification
• Lice are grayish in colour,
are characteristically
dorso-ventrally flattened
and both sexes feed on
blood through mouthparts
designed for piercing and
sucking. They are apterous
(wingless).

89
• Eggs are
– small (0.6-0.8mm)
– oval
– white,
– operculated
– called nits
• They are firmly glued to
– fibres of clothing especially
along the seams and folds
of underclothes
– occasionally on body hair.

90
 BODY LOUSE (P. humanus)

- MORPHOLOGY
• They are wingless and dorsoventrally flattened
• Adults are small:
– ♂ are 2-3mm long,
– ♀ are 3-4.5mm long
• Have a pair of inconspicuous eyes
• A pair of short five segmented antennae
• Mouth parts are modified for piercing and sucking

91
HEAD LOUSE (P. capitis)
• Head lice is confined to the scalp
• Eggs are cemented to the hair at the base
especially behind the ears and the back of the
neck, and are usually brought into view when hair
grows.
• Transmission is through close contact where heads
can touch.
• Sharing of combs or hats can facilitate
transmission

92
PUBIC LOUSE (Pthirus pubis)

• It is found mainly in the genital and

inguinal regions.
• They prefer areas of the body with
thick but not very dense covering of
hair
• They may also be found in other body
parts (beard, moustache, chest hair
and eyelashes) except the scalp
93
 Control of Lice infestation
• Body lice can be eradicated by changing and washing
clothes in water hotter than 60ºC, followed by
ironing
• Shaving of hair (head and pubic)
• Regular washing with soap and water, and combing
with a steel or plastic comb with closely set fine teeth.
This may not remove the eggs, but will reduce the
number of nymphs and adults
• Storage of clothes in sealed plastic container for 2
weeks

94
Medical importance
• Pediculosis/Nuisance
• Body lice are important as vectors of:
– Epidemic typhus (Rickettsia prowazeki)
– Epidemic relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis)
– Trench fever (Rochalimaea quintana)

95
 Order Dictyopteraor Othorptera -
Cockroaches

*RESPONSIBLE FOR:
•Diarrheal diseases
•Typhoid fever
•Dysentery

96
Morphology

 Generally dorsal ventrally flattened with smooth

(sometimes pilose) integument, varying in colour
from chestnut brown to black in the more
pestiferous house invading species. But are
frequently green, orange or other colours in the
tropical species
 The antennae is prominent filform and many
segmented
 The mouth parts are generally biting – chewing
type (orthopteran)
97
cont

 Wings – Two pairs in most species. In some wings

in most species and are vestigial in some in others
eg. Blatella orientalis they are well developed in
males and short in the females
 The outer pair of wings is narrow, thick and
leathery, the inner pair is membranous and folds
fanlike

98
Common Cockroach species
 Blatella germanica – (German
cockroach) other names, croton bug,
steam fly – widely distributed. Adults
measures 12 to 16 mm in length, pale
yellowish brown with two dark brown
longitudinal stripes on pronotum
 Both sexes are fully winged. The
female carries the egg capsule partly
protruding from abdomen until
hatching
 Most abundant cockroach in kitchen,
under skinks, and in dead spaces
between skinks and walls. Also Infest
parts of the home where warmth, 99
moisture and food are adequate
 cont
 Blatta Orientalis ( Oriental
cockroach) other names black
beetle, water bug. Dark brown to
black and larger than the German
cockroach – 22 to 27 mm in
length- Wings are rudimentary in
the female
 Found in cooler climates and out
of doors. Has a slower
reproductive rate with one
generation a year or one in two
years. This keeps its population at
a low level
100
cont

 Periplaneta americana – Large 30 to 40 mm in

length. Chestnut brown, both sexes have long
wings and may fly short distances.
 Wide spread tropicopolitan species
 Common in sewer systems and large buildings

101
Cockroaches as vectors
• Cockroaches have never been irrefutably incriminated in
natural transmission of pathogenic organisms to man.
However that, they potentially and under proper
circumstances actually act in this capacity is possible.
• They favour environments where both human pathogens and
human food are found and they readily pass from one to the
other
• They may carry pathogens In and On their bodies, these may
remain viable on the cuticle and in the digestive tract and
feces to the extent that the insects may even be chronic
carriers
• Example Blatella germanica – can acquire specific bacteria
crawling over cultures and then deposit the bacteria on food
102
Cont..

• Four strains of poliomyelitis virus and about 40

species of pathogenic bacteria, the protozoa
Entamoeba histolytica have been isolated from wild
caught cockroaches
• Most domestic species of cockroach feed on both
human feces and human food and are abundant in
areas where poor hygienic conditions prevail
• Under experimental conditions they have been
found to harbor Coxsackie, Yellow fever virus,
bacterial agents of Cholera, anthrax, Trichomonus
hominis, Giardia intestinalis, Balantidium coli
103
 Control of Cockroaches
• The key to cockroach control is cleanliness, so that no substance
could serve as food for these omnivorous insects is left accessible to
them
• Reinfestation occurs from outdoors in warmer areas or along
heating ducts and water pipes in apartments – spraying a pyrethrum
or synthetic pyrethroid aerosol into crevices will flush out the pests.
• Baited traps are also useful- Baits consisting of peanut meal,
maltose, traces of methyl myristate combined with a toxicant may
be effective.
• Silica aerogel, dry boric acid or a combination of these may be
placed liberally in wall compartments during or after construction
to provide long term control
• Cockroaches are difficult to control permanently with insecticides
as they readily become resistant to common toxicants
104
Bedbugs

• Order Hemiptera
• Family : Cimicidae
• Cimex species

105
morphology
• Adults are oval wingless insects dorsoventrally
flattened
• Measure 4-5 mm long pale yellow or brown color
when unfed and when fed the color become
mahogany brown
• Head short and broad with a pair of prominent
compound eyes
• non- functional wings, termed the hemi- elytra
appear as two oval pads overlying the meso - and
meta- thorax
• Three pairs of legs slender but well developed
• The abdomen is divided into 8 visible segments106
Cont..

• In males the tip of abdomen is pointed with a small

curved well developed penis
• In female on the ventral side on the fourth
abdominal segment there is an incision which opens
into a special pouch called the mesospermalege or
the organ of Berlese or Ribaga which serves to
collect and store sperm
• Both males and females bite man

107
 Control of Bedbugs
• A cheap and effective control method is fumigation
with sulphur. Dosage range from 0.34 to 0.74 kg/28m³
with an exposure of at least 6 hours. It kills active
stages but a few eggs may escape
• Insecticides such as: 5% DDT emulsion, 0.5%HCH,
2%malathion,0.5% diazinone or 0.5% dichlorvos- are
effective, particularly when combined with 0.1 – 0.2%
Pyrethrin or synthetic pyrethroids flush bedbugs out
of their hiding places and increase contact with
insecticide
• Bedding and mattresses can be lightly sprayed with
insecticides but should be aired to allow them to dry
completely before re-use 108
snail
• snail intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis
• Snails require freshwater; usually with abundant vegetation on
which to feed and deposit their egg masses
• Optimum temperature for snails is 22-23 ºC – above 39 ºC
snails die.
• Snails prefer light to darkness therefore they are generally not
found in heavily shaded water bodies
• Aquatic snails are hermaphroditic (can self-fertilise) but cross-
fertilization is the usual among them.
• Onchomelania snails which transmit Schistosoma japonicum
are not aquatic but amphibious and differ markedly in size and
shape from the aquatic snails (Bulinus and Biomphalaria) and
have different biological characteristics.
109
habitat

• Muddy water channels favour breeding

• Still or slow-moving water is preferred (ponds,
dams, lakes, irrigation canals, slow streams and
rivers).

110
Control of snail
Snails can be controlled indirectly by reducing their habitat or
directly by killing them.
• The use of molluscicides has been and still is the most important
method for controlling snail hosts. It is most effective against
aquatic species of the genera Bulinus and Biomphalaria.
• Environmental management- The methods of environmental
management include drainage, filling in, and the lining of canals
with concrete. These methods are generally expensive but long-
lasting.
• Biological control - Ducks eat snails
- Large non-vector snails such as Marisa cornuarietis, Tarebia
granifera, and Helisoma spp. eat vector snails and also compete
with them for food thus starving them to death. They also feed on
their egg masses which increases efficiency in controlling the
vector snails.
111
 Fill the empty cells
Parasite/pathogen Vector Disease
Plasmodium spp
1

B.malayi
2

Schistosoma japonicum
3

O.volvulus
4

Trypanosoma b.
5
gambiense
Yersinia pestis
6

Balantidium coli
7

8 Rickettsia prowazeki