This state-of-the-art reference book includes comprehensive coverage of the biology and control of African, Asian and South American trypanosomiasis ("sleeping sickness") in man and animals. It describes recent research developments in the biology and molecular biology of trypanosomes (the protozoan parasite) and their vectors, and methods in diagnosis and control, such as trapping tsetse fly vectors. Different sections of the book are devoted to biology of trypanosomes, vector biology, epidemiology and diagnosis, pathogenesis, disease impact, chemotherapy and disease control, and vector control. The book contains contributions from leading experts from Europe, North and South America, and Africa.
This new volume written by experts in the field of trypanosome research covers every aspect of trypanosome-vector-host biology. It is a must read for basic researchers working with trypanosomes and related organisms, infection and drug development as well as parasitology in a broader sense.
African and South American trypanosomiases are notable features of clinical and veterinary practice in their respective endemic areas and, as such, are of considerable economic importance. Scientifically, however, their importance ex tends beyond their clinical significance, as the trypano somes are intriguing and easily manipulated models for the study of the control of gene expression, membrane chemistry, proliferation and differentiation. It is clear from the scientific press that the rate of advance has "hotted" up in these areas of trypanosome research over the past 5 years and so a single-topic volume within the scope of the present series seemed timely. As ever, the final admix ture of review topics was a compromise between what was appropriate and what was available - fortunately with the former in vast excess. I should like to highlight two omissions, made for en tirely different reasons. The first is a detailed treatment of the molecular biology of the variant surface glycopro teins of the African trypanosomes (in particular Trypano soma brucei and T. equiperdum). This topic has been the subject of several reviews, for example, BORST and CROSS (1982)1 and TURNER (1982)2, and so was excluded from the present volume. The second omission is a review of the first-class work on genetic recombination from the group of Dr. Leo Jenni at the Schweizerisches Tropeninsti tut, Basel. This group has used isoenzyme markers to show that T.
Chagas disease causes severe socioeconomic impact and a high medical cost in Latin America. WHO and the World Bank consider Chagas disease as the fourth most transmittable disease to have a major impact on public health in Latin America: 120 million persons are potentially exposed, 16 to 18 million of whom are presently infected, causing 45,000 to 50,000 deaths per year. It has been calculated that approximately 2.4 million potential working years are lost because of incapacity and mortality due to the disease, for an annual cost estimated at 20 billion Euros. American Trypanosomiasis provides a comprehensive overview of Chagas disease and discusses the latest discoveries concerning the three elements that compose the transmission chain of the disease: - The host: human and mammalian reservoirs - The insect vectors: domestic and sylvatic vectors - The causative parasite: Trypanosoma cruzi - Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field - Contributions from leading authorities and industry experts
Most of the future increase in livestock production is expected to occur in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Cattle are the most numerous of the ruminant species in the tropics and provide the largest quantity of animal food products. More than one-third of the world's cattle are found in the tropics. Disease is the major factor which prohibits full utilization of these regions for cattle production. Various infectious and transmissible viral, rick ettsial, bacterial, and particularly protozoan and helminthic diseases, are widespread in the tropics and exert a heavy toll on the existing cattle industry there. This uncontrolled disease situation also discourages investment in cattle industries by private and government sectors. In Africa alone, it is estimated that 125 million head of cattle could be accommodated in the tropical rainbelt if the disease and other animal husbandry factors could be resolved. The potential of efficient cattle production under more favorable conditions prompted various international agencies to establish a multi million dollar International Laboratory for Research in Animal Diseases (ILRAD) in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. In South America, principal sites for raising cattle are shifting to the savannah lands because the more fertile soils are being used for crop produc tion, however, in the savannahs also, disease remains the most powerful deterrent in implementing the cattle industry.
Domestic livestock in Africa are of importance not only as a source of milk and meat but also as a source of animal traction enabling farmers to cultivate larger areas, with crops providing the staple foods. Trypanosomosis, a parasitic disease transmitted cyclically by the tsetse fly (Glossina spp.), is arguably still the main constraint to livestock production on the continent, preventing full use of the land to feed the rapidly increasing human population. Sleeping sickness, the disease caused in humans by species of Trypanosoma, is an important and neglected disease posing a threat to millions of people in tsetse-infested areas. Often wrongly thought of as a disease of the past, the prevalence of human sleeping sickness is increasing in many areas. Although alternative methods to control the disease are being investigated, such as immunological approaches, use of chemotherapy or exploitation of the trypanotolerance trait, it is only control or eradication of the tsetse fly vector which will remove the threat of the disease rather than providing a better means of "living" with it. As a result of the economic impact of tsetse-transmitted Trypanosomosis, a large amount of research literature has been produced. This book provides a comprehensive review of this literature. The text is divided into four parts: tsetse biology and ecology, epidemiology, vector control and control of trypanosomosis. The book is invaluable for medical and veterinary entomologists, parasitologists and epidemiologists.
African trypanosomes are tsetse-transmitted protozoa that inhabit the extracellular compartment of host blood. They cause fatal sleeping sickness in people, and Nagana, a wasting and generally fatal disease, in cattle. While trypanosomes are most common to Africa (about 30% of Africa's cattle graze on the fringe of the tsetse habitat), some species have spread beyond its boarders to Asia, the Middle East and South America. The African Trypanosomes, volume one of World Class Parasites, is written for researchers, students and scholars who enjoy reading research that has a major impact on human health, or agricultural productivity, and against which we have no satisfactory defense. It is intended to supplement more formal texts that cover taxonomy, life cycles, morphology, vector distribution, symptoms and treatment. It integrates vector, pathogen and host biology and celebrates the diversity of approach that comprises modern parasitological research.
