Description
Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, a pest of cattle worldwide, has huge economic impacts where it occurs. This tick was recently imported from Latin America into a few West African countries, and threatens to invade large parts of the region. In the West African resource-limited context, there is a need for effective and focused control strategies. This requires maps of the current and potential distribution of R. microplus. Using a Latin American habitat suitability model and MODIS-derived environmental indicators (climatic and vegetation indicators), and niche modelling techniques, a preliminary map will be produced. Results will be overlaid with host density data. This map will guide field surveys aimed at determining the current distribution of the tick in Benin. To improve efficiency and reduce costs, custom-made smart phone applications will be used, allowing the swift transfer of geo-referenced field-data. The field data will then be used to fine-tune the habitat suitability model and maps. The suitability of a veterinary surveillance system integrating remote sensing and telecommunication tools in a resource-poor setting will be evaluated.
TickRisk is a collaborative project coordinated by UCL with collaborators at the Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (M. Madder), and the University of Zaragoza, Spain (A. Estrada-Peña).
TickRisk is funded by the Belgian Science Policy, Research Programme for Earth Observation Stereo II.
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