A voluntary use of insecticide-treated cattle can eliminate African sleeping sickness

Abstract

African sleeping sickness is a vector-borne disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. It is transmitted by tsetse flies and one of the most effective strategies to combat the disease is the use of insecticide-treated cattle (ITC). In this paper, we present a game-theoretical model, in which individual farmers choose their own level of ITC in order to maximize their own benefits, effectively balancing the cost of ITC and the risk of their cows contracting the disease. We find that even when the usage of ITC is strictly voluntary, the optimal ITC usage will eliminate the disease when the cost of ITC is not prohibitively large. This is in a sharp contrast with similar scenarios of vaccination games where a voluntary vaccination never eliminates a disease entirely.