Sleeping sickness : a Zimbabwean crisis
October 11th, 2005
Our latest Sokwanele newsletter calls attention to the rise in cases of sleeping sickness in certain areas of Zimbabwe:
Certain low-lying areas in Zimbabwe, such as along the course of the Zambezi River, have always been known to be at risk because of the prevalence of tsetse fly. Before the advent of insecticides this had a natural limiting effect upon human habitation and cattle rearing in these areas. However once the cause of the disease was understood, and effective preventative measures put in place (through spraying and maintaining extensive clearings around human settlement), these regions could be settled without undue risk. This is what happened with the building of Kariba and the development of the tourist industry along the shores of the lake and beyond.
The Department of Veterinary Services established check points at strategic points along the road networks to ensure that vehicles entering and leaving known tsetse areas might be sprayed to keep the disease in check. Clearing and spraying programmes around villages and tourist areas were routine and, through vigilance, cases of sleeping sickness became extremely rare even in areas afflicted with the dreaded tsetse fly. But that is no more.
Today the disease is rampant again across a huge swathe of prime tourist resorts in huge triangle between Chirundu and Makuti to the north and east of Kariba, to the Omay Communal Lands far out to the west. Ever since the European Union (EU) funding of the Department of Veterinary Services’ control programme came to an end some five years ago, and with it the cessation of all preventative measures, the inhabitants of this vast area, including tourists, have been sitting on a time bomb.
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