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Multiple-strain infections of Trypanosoma brucei across Africa

Balmer, Oliver and Caccone, Adalgisa. (2008) Multiple-strain infections of Trypanosoma brucei across Africa. Acta tropica : Zeitschrift für Tropenwissenschaften und Tropenmedizin, 107 (3). pp. 275-279.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A6164899

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Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that parasitic infections frequently contain multiple strains of the same parasite species. This may have important consequences for the parasite dynamics in the host and thus alter disease and transmission dynamics. In Trypanosoma brucei, the causal agent of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), multiple-strain infections have previously been demonstrated to occur. Here, we analyzed field isolates of T. b. gambiense, T. b. rhodesiense, and T. b. brucei, isolated throughout Africa to assess the commonness of multiple-strain infections across the natural range of this parasite. Using eight highly variable microsatellite loci, we found multiple strains in 8.8% of our isolates. Due to the technical challenges of detecting multiple infections this number represents a minimum estimate and the true frequency of multiple-strain infections is likely to be higher. Multiple-strain infections occurred across the entire East-West range of the parasite. Together with previous results, these findings strongly suggest that multiple-strain infections are common for this parasite and that their consequences for epidemiology and parasite evolution should be investigated in detail.
Faculties and Departments:09 Associated Institutions > Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) > Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology (MPI) > Parasite Chemotherapy (Mäser)
UniBasel Contributors:Balmer, Oliver
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Elsevier Science Publ.
ISSN:0001-706X
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
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Last Modified:18 Oct 2017 06:16
Deposited On:13 Sep 2013 07:52

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