Abstract
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Abstract; Background; ; African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is an infectious disease of economic and public health importance hindering agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current study aimed at providing baseline information on tsetse fly distribution and occurrence of Trypanosoma species in cattle and goats within and around Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP), in western Uganda. A minimal entomological survey was conducted in April 2017 while blood samples collected from cattle (n = 576) and goats (n = 319) in June 2015 and May 2017 were subjected to microscopy and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to determine the occurrence of trypanosome species.; Results; ; Glossina pallidipes and G. fuscipes were the only tsetse fly species trapped in the study area with apparent density of 20.6. The overall prevalence of Trypanosoma spp. in cattle and goats was 38.9% and 37% respectively for samples collected in 2015 while the prevalence of Trypanosome spp in cattle samples collected in 2017 was 38%. In 2015, T. brucei was the highest prevalent trypanosome in both cattle (23%) and goats (18.8%). In both cattle and goats, a mixed infection of T. brucei + T. congolense was most encountered with prevalence of 4.8% and 4.1% in cattle and goats, respectively. In goats a mixed infection of T. brucei + T. congolense + T. vivax was higher (2.8%) than in cattle (2.4%). In 2017, in cattle (n = 250), the prevalence for T. congolense was 32.4%, T. vivax was 6.8% and T. brucei was 6.4%. A co-infection of T. brucei and T. congolense was most prevalent (7.4%). Only 3.2% of the cattle were co-infected with all the three Trypanosome species.; Conclusions; ; Current findings show that there are two types of Tsetse fly specie, s important in transmission of AAT. Presence of these parasites in goats shows that they also play a key role in epidemiology of the disease and control efforts should aim also involve goat farmers.