Research Article
African Trypanosomiasis Dynamics: Modelling the Effects of
Treatment, Education, and Vector Trapping
Yustina A. Liana ,
1
Nyimvua Shaban,
1
Goodluck Mlay,
1
and Anitha Phibert
2
1
Department of Mathematics, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2
Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam Postal address, P.O.Box 35062,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Correspondence should be addressed to Yustina A. Liana; lianayustina@yahoo.com
Received 21 May 2020; Revised 2 November 2020; Accepted 12 November 2020; Published 26 November 2020
Academic Editor: Ra´ ul E. Curto
Copyright © 2020 Yustina A. Liana et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Africantrypanosomiasisisavector-bornediseasethatismainlytransmittedbyinfectedtsetseflies.Adeterministicmodeloftsetse
flyvector,human,andcattlehostsisformulatedandanalyzedtogaininsightsintothediseasedynamics.erolesofpublichealth
education, treatment, and tsetse fly traps are studied. e effective reproduction number, a threshold used to determine whether
the disease persists or dies out in the population, is determined. e sensitivity analysis of the model parameters is performed to
determine their relationship with the effective reproduction number. e results show that the tsetse fly biting rate is the most
sensitive parameter to the effective reproduction number. Furthermore, the model’s numerical simulation shows that a com-
binationofallthreeinterventionshasthemostsignificantimpactonthecontrolofAfricantrypanosomiasis.us,werecommend
that these control measures be put concurrently in endemic areas for effective control of the disease transmission.
1. Introduction
African trypanosomiasis is a disease caused by microscopic
parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei, and it is trans-
mitted through bites of infected tsetse flies of the genus
Glossina which are most common in woodland and savannah
areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Trypanosomabrucei infects both
humans and animals, and if not treated early, it can lead to
death [1]. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is caused
by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei
rhodesiense while African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) is
mainly caused by Trypanosoma brucei vivax, Trypanosoma
brucei congolense, and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense [2].
Even though both humans and animals are infected by
Trypanosoma brucei, cattle are mostly infected because of
tsetse flies’ feeding preferences. Both male and female tsetse
flies can transmit Trypanosoma and depend only on hosts’
blood to survive or for all their nutritional needs, unlike other
vector-borne diseases such as malaria, where only a female
mosquito can feed on blood and can transmit the disease [3].
e disease has affected at least 37 countries in sub-
Saharan Africa, threatening the lives of millions of people in
rural areas. Around 10 million square kilometers in sub-
Saharan Africa have been affected by Trypanosoma brucei
species [3]. On average, 70,000 cases of HAT are reported
each year in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than 1 million
cattle die every year due to trypanosomiasis and cause an
economic loss of between $2 and $4.5 billion annually [4, 5].
Itisclaimedthatthehighmortalityrateoflivestockcanlead
to low production of meat and milk up to 50% in sub-
Saharan Africa every year [6].
So far, much work has been done to investigate the
dynamics of African trypanosomiasis. For example, Moore
et al. [4] developed a model on the effect of climate change
on African trypanosomiasis dynamics. e result from their
study predicted that, by the year 2090, about 46–77 million
people would be exposed to trypanosomiasis disease. Otieno
et al. [7] studied the dynamics of trypanosomiasis in a cattle
population by including the wild animals as an alternative
feeding source for tsetse flies. e results obtained from the
Hindawi
International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences
Volume 2020, Article ID 3690472, 15 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3690472