Mitigating rodent impacts on health and well-being in rural Madagascar

In low-income countries, rodents have very significant impacts on health and well-being. Annually cereals lost to rodents could feed hundreds of millions of people, whilst rodent-borne infections (RBI) kill thousands. A major research challenge is developing holistic rodent management strategies that deliver both improved food security and reduced disease burdens, and are sustainable for communities. I will work with health and agricultural stakeholders and communities to fill key knowledge gaps and adapt and test innovative management techniques developed in the agricultural sector, primarily in Asia, to other ecological and socio-cultural contexts. Working in Madagascar, I will combine empirical and modelling studies to explore how localised control impacts on the risk from a range of RBI with contrasting transmission routes, determining in what circumstances control increases or decreases risk. I will test the cost-efficiency of different strategies, using an approach that incorporates agricultural losses, disease burdens and management costs. With communities I will explore the impacts of socio-cultural practices, identifying opportunities and constraints for community-led control. To optimise management strategies, adaptive research experiments will be co-developed and evaluated with communities and stakeholders. Active engagement with national and international stakeholders throughout the project will facilitate scaling up and policy impact.