Detection of Trypanosoma brucei in field-captured tsetse flies and identification of host species fed on by the infected flies.
The prevalence of trypanosome infections in tsetse flies in the Chiawa area of Lower Zambezi in Zambia, with endemic trypanosomosis, was determined by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method that allowed the detection of trypanosome DNA and determination of the type of animal host fed on by the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes, using tsetse-derived DNA extracts as templates. Ninety G. pallidipes (82 females and 8 males; 18.3%) of the 492 flies captured by baited biconical traps tested positive for the presence of Trypanosoma brucei species genomic DNA. Of the 90 T. brucei-positive flies, 47 (52.2%) also tested positive for vertebrate mitochondrial DNA. Sequence analysis of the vertebrate mitochondrial DNA amplicons established that they originated from 8 different vertebrate species, namely, human (Homo sapiens), African elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus), greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), and goat (Capra hircus). Furthermore, to investigate the prevalence of trypanosome infections in domestic goats in the same area where trypanosomes had been detected in tsetse files, a total of 86 goats were randomly selected from 6 different herds. Among the selected goats, 36 (41.9%) were found to be positive for T. brucei species. This combined detection method would be an ideal approach not only for mass screening for infection prevalence in tsetse populations, but also for the prediction of natural reservoirs in areas endemic for trypanosomosis.
Konnai
Satoru
S
Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. konnai@vetmed.hokudai.ac.jp
Mekata
Hirohisa
H
Odbileg
Raadan
R
Simuunza
Martin
M
Chembensof
Mwelwa
M
Witola
William Harold
WH
Tembo
Mwase Enala
ME
Chitambo
Harrison
H
Inoue
Noboru
N
Onuma
Misao
M
Ohashi
Kazuhiko
K
D000818:Animals; D004606:Elephants; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006041:Goats; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012418:Ruminants; D013552:Swine; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D014370:Tsetse Flies / Q000382:microbiology*