More effective methods for controlling tsetse flies – which stalk humans and livestock across sub-Saharan Africa, carrying fatal parasitic infections – are urgently needed. Fortunately, the recently completed genome sequence of the tsetse provides several clues that could transform research and improve disease-control efforts.
NEW HAVEN – Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) – also known as sleeping sickness – has long plagued rural sub-Saharan African populations. A parasitic infection, it is often fatal when left untreated. And treatment is complex, requiring the kind of highly skilled medical staff that is difficult to find in the affected areas. The parasites that carry the infection – Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in central and western Africa and T. b. rhodesiense in eastern Africa – are transmitted through the bite of an infected tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans morsitan).
NEW HAVEN – Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) – also known as sleeping sickness – has long plagued rural sub-Saharan African populations. A parasitic infection, it is often fatal when left untreated. And treatment is complex, requiring the kind of highly skilled medical staff that is difficult to find in the affected areas. The parasites that carry the infection – Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in central and western Africa and T. b. rhodesiense in eastern Africa – are transmitted through the bite of an infected tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans morsitan).