The savannah species cause the utmost threat because they reside in places where animals are usually reared. All tsetse species (Genus: Glossina) can transmit the disease, but the savannah species (morsitans group) are the most effective vectors of trypanosomes to livestock.
vivax, mechanically by biting flies such as Tabanids and Stomoxys. The disease is transmitted cyclically by tsetse flies and, in the case of some animal-infective trypanosomes, in particular T. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.Īfrican Trypanosomiases constitute a group of vector-borne parasites causing African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) and Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) or “sleeping sickness”. This fellowship also received financial support from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) ICTDL Project Contract Number 81235250 and Project Number 18.7860.2-001.00. We are grateful for the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), through a Dissertation Research Internship Programme (DRIP) (Postgraduate Training | icipe - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology), Fellowship to RGS. The support was in the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Rwanda and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.ĭata Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.įunding: This work received the financial support from Rwanda Dairy Development Project (RDDP) project ID: 2000001195, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), through the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Board ( ), to RGS. Received: JAccepted: OctoPublished: December 15, 2021Ĭopyright: © 2021 Gashururu S. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 15(12):Įditor: Enock Matovu, Makerere University, UGANDA (2021) Occurrence, diversity and distribution of Trypanosoma infections in cattle around the Akagera National Park, Rwanda. R, Maingi N, Githigia SM, Gasana MN, Odhiambo PO, Getange DO, et al. The findings are expected to promote the progressive reduction or the elimination of the Animal African Trypanosomiasis burden in the area and inform the process for validation of rhodesiense Human African Trypanosomiasis (rHAT) elimination.Ĭitation: Gashururu S. This new knowledge contributes to a better understanding of the epidemiology of animal Trypanosomiasis and it will inform the setting of adequate and more focused control of the disease in the area. We found animal pathogenic trypanosomes (i.e. The study determined the genetic diversity and distribution of trypanosomes circulating in cattle blood by using microscopy, immunological rapid tests and molecular techniques. This work was the first large-scale study to map Trypanosoma occurrence in cattle around the tsetse–infested Akagera National Park. Trypanosomiasis is reported around Akagera region of Rwanda at the border with Tanzania, where it is not well documented. The socio-economic and health impact of the disease on humans and livestock is often found at the edge of tsetse-infested protected wildlife areas. African Trypanosomiasis is a major neglected tropical disease associated with rural areas in low resource settings.