title: Multiple infections of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in blood and cerebrospinal fluid of human African trypanosomosis patients from Angola: consequences on clinical course and treatment outcome.
abstract: Human African trypanosomosis, caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, is a chronic disease, although various clinical patterns have been observed, from asymptomatic to acute forms. Since 2001 in Angola, 80% of patients have been found to be in the meningoencephalitic stage of the disease. The existence of an acute form of the disease caused by virulent strains of trypanosomes was suspected. To test this hypothesis, four sensitive and polymorphic microsatellite markers were used to characterize the trypanosome DNA extracted from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of 100 patients in the meningoencephalitic stage. Twenty-three patients were found with mixed T. b. gambiense genotypes in the blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid. The absence of association between the number of infecting genotypes, the presence of neurological signs and white blood cell counts in the cerebrospinal fluid, seems to indicate, at least in the context of the present study, the absence of virulent strains. However, out of five patients who died from encephalopathy syndrome during treatment with eflornithine, three harbored multiple infections.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Unité Mixte de Recherche 177 IRD-CIRAD, Campus International de Baillarguet, TA A17/G, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. Philippe.Truc@ird.fr, truc@ird.fr
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Truc
authors.forename: Marie Laure
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tiouchichine
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cuny
authors.forename: Gedeão
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vatunga
authors.forename: Théophile
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Josenando
authors.forename: Gustave
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Simo
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herder
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000810:Angola / Q000453:epidemiology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D056426:Genetic Loci; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D011379:Prognosis; D014347:Trypanosoma brucei gambiense / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan