Flies in Africa, what is African sleeping sickness? What is the tsese fly?
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| African sleeping sickness, is a parasitic disease spread by the tsetse fly |
East African and West African African Sleeping Sickness
African
trypanosomiasis, also called African sleeping sickness, is a parasitic disease
spread by the tsetse fly. Symptoms include fatigue, high fever, headaches, and
muscle aches. If the disease is not treated, it can cause death.
African
sleeping sickness is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma
brucei, which is found only in rural Africa. Currently, many cases go
undiagnosed and unreported. Sleeping sickness is curable with medication but
is fatal if left untreated.
There
are two types of African sleeping sickness diseases each is named for the
region of Africa in which they were found historically.
East
African sleeping sickness is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which is carried by the tsetse fly.
East African sleeping sickness is found in parts of Eastern and Southeastern
Africa. More than 95% of cases are reported from Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and
Zambia.
Individuals
can become infected with West African sleeping sickness if they receive a bite
from an infected tsetse fly, which is only found in Africa. West African sleeping
sickness, also called Gambian sleeping sickness, is caused by a parasite called
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense carried
by the tsetse fly. In recent years, 7,000-10,000 new cases of West African
trypanosomiasis have been reported to the World Health Organization annually.
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West African sleeping sickness and East African sleeping sickness Life Cycle
The
cycle in the fly takes approximately 3 weeks. During a blood meal on the
mammalian host, an infected tsetse fly injects metacyclic trypomastigotes into skin tissue. The parasites enter
the lymphatic system and pass into the bloodstream.
Inside
the host, they transform into bloodstream trypomastigotes, are carried to other
sites throughout the body, reach other blood fluids (e.g., lymph, spinal
fluid), and continue the replication by binary fission.
The
entire life cycle of African Trypanosomes is represented by extracellular
stages. The tsetse fly becomes infected with bloodstream trypomastigotes when
taking a blood meal on an infected mammalian host.
In
the fly’s midgut, the parasites transform into procyclic trypomastigotes,
multiply by binary fission, leave the midgut, and transform into epimastigotes.
The
epimastigotes reach the fly’s salivary glands and continue multiplication by
binary fission.
The
cycle in the fly takes approximately 3 weeks. Humans are the main reservoir for
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, but this species can also be found in animals.
Wild game animals are the main reservoir of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.
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