EAST-COAST FEVER - A PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA

The tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus vector of East Coast fever and related cattle diseases caused by Theileria parva is absent from the horn of Africa, although widely distributed in eastern, central and southern Africa. Using recently developed interpolated climate databases for the region to drive the climate-matching model CLIMEX, it is shown that much of the highlands of Ethiopia are climatically suitable for the survival and development of the tick. In addition, the analysis of satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data shows great similarity in vegetation cover between the Ethiopian highlands and the highland areas of neighbouring countries to the south where the tick occurs. The possible reasons for the absence of R. appendiculatus in the horn of Africa are proposed and the possible consequences of its introduction into the region are discussed. Suggestions are made as to how the establishment of the tick (and the diseases it transmits) may be avoided in the horn of Africa.