Loulou Peisl and Albert Eisenbarth back from Cameroon

During the last 10 years, the Simulium damnosum s.l. populations at the river Vina du Sud near Galim decreased considerably, as indicated by the declining biting rates on human fly-collectors. Yet the reason for this is not clear: Is it due to ecological changes in the micro-environment of the local breeding sites, parasites of the Simulium larvae or just the dilution of the adult fly-population by an increase of the population density of the human and bovine blood-hosts? Loulou performed a series of experiments to find answers.

The photo shows Jeremie (left) and Albert, studying the blackfly larval-population in the river Vina du Sud.