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Trypanosoma brucei (African trypanosomiasis)
Epidemiology:
1) Africa
2) infect both animals & humans
3) transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly (genus Glossina)
Clinical manifestations:
- multiplication at the bite site often produces a transient chancre
(also see T. brucei-rhodesiense & T. brucei-gambiense)
Laboratory:
1) diagnosis is made by demonstrating parasites in thick & thin films of peripheral blood, buffy coat, lymph node or bone marrow aspirates or biopsies or spun CSF stained with Giemsa
2) trypomastigotes in blood (image [3])
a) multi-curved
b) measure up to 30 um in length
b) small kinetoplast
3) Trypanosoma brucei antibody in serum
a) Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Ab in serum
b) Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense Ab in serum
c) high levels of IgM in blood & CSF
4) CSF pleocytosis 50-500 mononuclear cells/uL
5) Trypanosoma brucei DNA [4]
6) culture or animal innoculation
7) elevated serum transaminases (case report) [3]
Related
fly/gnat-borne infection
Specific
Trypanosoma brucei-brucei
Trypanosoma brucei-gambiense (African sleeping sickness)
Trypanosoma brucei-rhodesiense
General
Trypanosoma
Properties
KINGDOM: animal
PHYLUM: protozoa
References
- Clinical Diagnosis & Management by Laboratory Methods,
19th edition, J.B. Henry (ed), W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia,
PA. 1996, pg 1266
- Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th ed.
Fauci et al (eds), McGraw-Hill Inc. NY, 1998, pg 1193-96
- Sun LH (image)
Medical detectives raced to save a man from a rare 'universally
lethal' disease.
Washington Post. Dec 22, 2016
- Loinc
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
African Trypanosomiasis (African Sleeping Sickness)
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/diseases/african-sleeping-sickness-african-trypansosomiasis