Updating the northern tsetse limit in Burkina Faso (1949-2009): Impact of global change

Abstract

The northern distribution limit of tsetse flies was updated in Burkina Faso and compared to previous limits to revise the existing map of these vectors of African trypanosomiases dating from several decades ago. From 1949 to 2009, a 25- to 150-km shift has appeared toward the south. Tsetse are now discontinuously distributed in Burkina Faso with a western and an eastern tsetse belt. This range shift can be explained by a combination of decreased rainfall and increased human density. Within a context of international control, this study provides a better understanding of the factors influencing the distribution of tsetse flies.© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation. International, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license. © 2010 by the authors.