PMID: 8952890Jan 1, 1996Paper

Human African trypanosomiasis

Comptes rendus des séances de la Société de biologie et de ses filiales
M Dumas, Bernard Bouteille

Abstract

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is caused by infestation with a flagellate protozoan, the trypanosome which is inoculated by the bite of the tsetse fly Glossina. The particular ecological conditions of parasites and vectors are such that the disease is only found in the intertropical regions of Africa. Although there are many species of trypanosomes, only two, belonging to the brucei group are likely to lead to HAT. These two species are quite similar morphologically but have different pathogenicity. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense found in West and Central Africa leads to a chronic form of the disease or sleeping sickness. T. b. rhodesiense leads to a more virulent and acute condition, although for each species of trypanosome there are strains of different virulence, which account, at least in part, for the interindividual variability in the clinical course. Immediately after penetration into the human organism, the trypanosome multiplies at the point of inoculation, producing a local inflammatory reaction. It then invades the whole organism, and the central nervous system (CNS). The involvement of the CNS leads to an irreversible demyelinating process ending by death without treatment. Apart from the initial stages, it is no...Continue Reading

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