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Fungus potential viable alternative to pesticides in the fight against ticks in Africa

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January 24, 2025

An organic pesticide against East Coast Fever and other animal diseases transmitted by ticks is not yet considered a viable alternative to chemical pesticides but may well become so. Thus claim ICIPE and WUR researchers in two scientific publications. They studied the efficacy of a fungus isolate that combats pathogenic ticks.

Kenyan research institute ICIPE developed a fungus isolate that has proven effective against multiple tick species in a laboratory. However, quantitative knowledge of the degree to which the fungus impacts the transfer of disease in practice was lacking.

Successful over time

The first study, a field study in which the efficacy of the fungus was compared to a chemical pesticide and a control group, was not very successful. The chemical pesticide killed most of the ticks on bovines. Although the fungus killed the ticks, the bovines still became infected.

A second study was conducted to investigate how this was possible. The results were published in this month’s edition of Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. This model study shows that the fungus may well be effective. It takes a few weeks for the ticks to perish, which allows them time to infect the bovines. Still, the fungus can cause the tick population to shrink over time, preventing the ticks from transmitting the disease further. The animal disease does not proliferate as efficiently, reducing the number of infected animals over time.

Conditions need to be met

Hence, the fungus isolate may contribute to fighting animal diseases under certain conditions, the researchers argue. Firstly, reducing the tick population among livestock farmers requires many treatments with the fungus. Secondly, efficient spraying techniques and better coatings are needed to ensure the substance remains on the cattle’s skin. Thirdly, knowledge must be transferred to the African livestock farmers, as they currently trust chemical substances that kill ticks instantly more than the fungus that takes time to achieve the same effect. The environmental and food safety issues caused by chemical substances, however, call for an alternative.

The study was conducted by ICIPE (the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenia) researchers in close collaboration with Wageningen’s Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases group and the Entomology group. Lead author Joseph Wanganga Oundo, who is employed by ICIPE, obtained his PhD at both these groups.

The scientists studied how the fungus isolate impacts the transmittal of East Coast Fever among bovine populations. East Coast Fever is a common animal disease in East Africa that causes fever, swollen lymph glands, and death in cows. A parasite that is transmitted by ticks causes the disease.

As a result of this study, the fungus isolate will be developed further by RealIPM Ltd. RealIPM Ltd is a Kenyan business that develops organic pesticides. The company aims to increase the viability of the fungal spores before and after application to increase the efficacy of the substance.