After several delimiting surveys and eradication attempts of B. dorsalis in the Sundays River Valley area of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, it has been decided that continuous eradication of the pest within the affected area is no longer feasible. The feasibility to develop and declare the Sundays River Valley as an area of low B. dorsalis prevalence will be investigated given that low numbers of the pest were detected. The identification of all the specimens was confirmed by an expert in Entomology through molecular analysis (PCR).
The spread of the pest to other areas of the Eastern Cape Province, which are still free from B. dorsalis , will be regulated in terms of Regulation 110 of the Agricultural Pests Act 36 of 1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983) which restricts the movement of affected host material to pest free areas. The status of the pest in the Sundays River Valley area of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is: Present