ANIMAL TRYPANOSOMOSISIS

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Context

African animal Trypanosomosisis, caused by tsetse fly, is a huge problem for African livestock farmers. Ethiopia has released the first edition of an atlas to map a parasitic disease affecting livestock in the country and the vector behind it.

About

Animal trypanosomiasis, also known as naganaand nagana pest, or sleeping sickness, is a disease of vertebrates. The disease is caused by parasites called trypanosomes of several species in the genus Trypanosoma such as Trypanosoma brucei.

[Trypanosoma is a genus of kinetoplastids, a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa.]

Trypanosoma vivaxcauses nagana mainly in West Africa, although it has spread to South America.
The trypanosomes are transmitted by tsetseflies and other blood-sucking Diptera.

Symptoms

The trypanosomes infect the blood of the vertebrate host, causing fever, weakness, and lethargy, which lead to weight loss and anemia; in some animals the disease is fatal unless treated.
Various symptoms are observed, including fever, oedema, adenitis, dermatitis and nervous disorders.

Impact

Trypanosomosis lies at the heart of Africa’s struggle against poverty, and it is endemic in more than thirty countries among the least developed of the world.
Affecting both livestock and people, trypanosomosis constrains agricultural production and causes food insecurity in vast and fertile swaths of sub-Saharan Africa.
Although the loss of direct livestock products (meat, milk, and blood) is problematic, the greatest impact of livestock trypanosomiasis is the loss of crop productivitydue to loss of the animals' draught power in the field.

Concern

There is no vaccine and existing drugs are becoming less effective because of the development of resistance in parasites.

Control Measures

If the outbreak is detected early, the organism can be destroyed by quarantines, movement controls, and the euthanasia of infected animals.
Tsetse fly populations can be reduced or eliminated by traps, insecticides, and by treating infected animals with antiparasitic drugs.
The tsetse habitat can be destroyed by alteration of vegetation.
Some drugs can prevent trypanosomiasis, and are called prophylactic drugs. These are very effective in protecting animals during the times they are exposed to diseases.