Developing effective rodent control strategies to reduce disease risk in ecologically and culturally diverse rural landscapes.
Background
Multidisciplinary activities were conducted in Tanzania and Madagascar, focusing on three rodent-borne infections: leptospirosis, plague, and rickettsiosis.
The work was split into two stages:
First, knowledge gaps were addressed while strengthening collaborations with communities and stakeholders, enabling the co-development of rodent control strategies that were evaluated in the second stage. During the first stage, studies were carried out in 12 villages, where the impacts of rodent control on rodent movement and infection prevalence were experimentally assessed. Qualitative and quantitative social science methods were also used to examine community practices, behaviours, and perceptions related to health, hygiene, and pest management, while stakeholder engagement explored relevant policies and support systems.
In the second stage, a comparative trial was conducted across 12 intervention–control village pairs (24 villages total). Rodent management strategies were co-developed and implemented for one year, with monitoring of human practices and attitudes, rodent damage, disease prevalence in rodents, human health indicators, and economic and time costs. Collaborative workshops supported cross-country comparisons and advanced training for early-career researchers.
Duties and responsibilities
- Hierarchical modelling of species interactions in response to ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM).
- Provided statistical support to PhD and masters students of Institut Pasteur de Madagascar.
Publications
Appear once published.