Lucas J. Cunningham

Development and pilot application of a point-of-need molecular xenomonitoring protocol for tsetse (Glossina sp.) in a low-resource setting

The paper develops and tests a low-cost, point-of-need molecular xenomonitoring protocol for tsetse flies in a low-resource setting, achieving high DNA extraction success and pathogen detection rates.

Caught in a trap: DNA contamination in tsetse xenomonitoring can lead to over-estimates of Trypanosoma brucei infection

This study shows that co-housed infected tsetse flies can contaminate naive flies with T. brucei DNA via faeces, leading to overestimation of infection prevalence in xenomonitoring.

Identification of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense in vectors using multiplexed high-resolution melt analysis.

The paper develops a high-resolution melt assay to identify Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense in tsetse flies, offering a rapid and specific alternative to multiple PCR methods.