Innovative tick control: Gender and economic factors in adoption of acaricide resistance test kit

Applying acaricides is one of the main ways livestock keepers in East and West Africa control ticks on their ruminants and prevent tickborne diseases.

When ticks develop resistance to acaricides, tick prevention becomes frustrating and expensive.

A new pen-side test, the Rapid Tick Exposure Test (RaTexT®), could give livestock keepers better information about effective acaricides for their context.

An information brief by Zoë Campbell and Humphrey Jumba from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) highlights the findings of a qualitative study to identify socio-economic considerations for the design and roll-out of the RaTexT® and an associated mobile phone application.

The study aims to make the final product accessible to diverse livestock keepers and flag potential unintended negative consequences, especially for marginalized groups including women, pastoralists, people who are illiterate and those with small herds.

Citation

Campbell, Z. and Jumba, H. 2025. Tackling tick resistance: Gender and socio-economic considerations for adoption of an acaricide resistance pen-side test. ILRI Information Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

Photo: Sheep in Doyogena, Ethiopia (credit: ILRI/Zerihun Sewunet)

Curated by Tezira Lore, Communication Officer, ILRI