INNOVATIVE RODENT PEST MANAGEMENT AND BIOSENSOR TECHNOLOGY - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

AFRICA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE for INNOVATIVE RODENT PEST MANAGEMENT AND BIOSENSOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Mastomys (IRPM&BTD) natalensis Acronym : ACE- RatTech Mastomys natalensis Sokoine University of Agriculture, TANZANIA

Centre leader: Prof. Apia W. Massawe Mastomys natalensis Deputy Centre Leader: Prof. Rhodes H. Makundi VISION: INNOVATIVE CENTRE IN RODENT PEST MANAGEMENT AND BIOSENSOR TECHNOLOGIES

RE RESEARCH ARCH ARE AREAS AS OF ACE ACE IRP RPM& B & BTD

Research on rodents: Mostly by PhD students (17 currently) Biology : Ecology, taxonomy and systematics, diet a n a l y s i s A g r i c u l t u r e Field damage/reduced yield of staple crops Yield of vegetable crops, marketability Loss, damage, contamination to stored crops Rodent management: Fertility control, etc. Health Zoonosis – Lassa fever, plague, leptospirosis Contamination – dysentery ( Salmonella etc.) Biosensor technology Landmine detection, disease diagnosis (TB), endangered species trafficking

INNOVATIONS AN AND D CO COMMERCIALIZATION L – Use 1. 1. FE FERTILITY Y CO CONTROL e of of synthe nthetic ic hor hormon ones to to pr prevent nt br breed eedin ing and and repr eprod oductio ion Mastomys

2. RODENT REPELLENTS (Chemical and natural products) 3. FOOD STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES Rodent management is not only about reducing rat numbers, and must look for improvement in people’s livelihoods

Global research on rodents? Very little commercial research. Most is on bait optimisation for existing anti-coagulants. Some efforts to build a better rat trap and some research on repellents and fertility control Research on rodents in Europe, America , Australia, China,and Japan has declined American research limited, mainly on squirrels, urban pests,island eradication programmes, some plague focusresearch Africa is becoming a hotspot for rodent research: A C E IRPM is new initiative inAfrica to research on solutions to rodent problems

Biosensor Technology: Detecting tuberculosis in human sputum TB-10-hole-cage.avi

BIOSENSOR TECHNOLOGY : Detecting landmines road rats.wmv

Areas for research collaboration with ACE IRPM & BTD on rodents -Zoonoses and zoonotic diseases (leptospirosis, plague, lassa fever, mycoplasmosis, etc.) Use of modern techniques for research -- Remote sensing - Drones -Communication technology -Taxonomy – New species? -Repellents -Fertility control -Chemical and hormonal control -Immuno-contraception -Ecology -Damage and impact evaluation - Biosensor technology

Thank you for your attention