Trypanosomes

Trypanosoma gambiense
Kinetoplasty (whips)
Trypanosomatidae
Extracellular trypanosome movement in the bloodstream
Occurrence	West Africa
Disease	sleeping sickness , chronic form
Infectious stage and method of infection	metacyclic trypomastigote - inoculative (when stabbed with a gloss )
Diagnostics	microscopy
Therapy	suramine, arsenic compounds
MeSH ID	D014347

Trypanosomes are parasitic protozoa belonging to the class of flagella.

Trypanosoma gambiense and Trypanosoma rhodesiense[edit | edit source]

The equivalent name of Trypanosoma gambiense is Trypanosoma brucei

occurrence : they are connected by the same continent - Africa - but each occurs in a different part:
- T. gambiense: West Africa
- T. rhodesiense: East Africa
they have a single flagellum that forms an undulating membrane along the body
they are extracellular parasites
we find them in blood , lymph and cerebrospinal fluid
carrier : tse-tse fly or glossina
source of infection :
- T. gambiense: sick person
- T. rhodesiense: reservoir animals (humans enter the trypanosome life cycle randomly)

In human disease, both species cannot be distinguished

trypanosomes develop in the gut, sucker and salivary glands of the carrier
glossina sucks trypomastigotes
procyclic trypomastigotes travel to the salivary glands and transform into epimastigotes
at the end of their development, glossins appear in the saliva as so-called metacyclic trypomastigotes = the only stage capable of infecting humans
as soon as the glosin stings, it releases trypanosomes into human skin = inoculatory transmission
The sting of a fly is very painful

You can find more detailed information on the Sleeping Disease page.

Trypanosoma cruzi
Kinetoplasty (whips)
Trypanosomatidae
Trypanosoma cruzi trapped in the digestive tract
Occurrence	Central and South America
Disease	Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis)
Infectious stage and method of infection	metacyclic trypomastigote - contaminating (from faeces of sucking bedbugs)
Diagnostics	microscopy, serology, xenodiagnosis (sucking of bugs)
Therapy	does not exist
MeSH ID	D014349

slender whipworm with a wavy body
invasive, extacellular and intracellular parasite = enters nuclear cells (endothelial cells, muscle cells of all types and neuroglia)
transmission :
- bugs - especially
- transplacentally
- transfusion (blood)
- orally - rarely - this can happen with insufficient heat treatment of the nine-banded armadillo, from which the bug is infected

Trypanosomes multiply in the intestine of bugs (subfamily Triatominae) in the form of epimastigotes , which turn into infectious trypomastigotes in the rectum of bugs .
Then the bugs attach to humans → they start sucking (especially at night).
When sucking bugs , they harden - trypanosomes are present in the feces - the so-called contaminating mode of transmission .
Trypanosomes are able to actively penetrate the skin .
Metacyclic trypomastigotes penetrate the body cells of the host, where they multiply intensively as small amastigotes .
After several divisions, shortly before the cell ruptures, amastigotes turn into trypomastigts, which are released into the bloodstream and initiate infection of other cells.
Additional blood bugs become infected when the blood is sucked.

You can find more detailed information on the Chagas disease page .

Life cycle of trypanosomes transmitting sleeping sickness.

Life cycle of T. cruzi

BEDNÁŘ, M, et al. Lékařská mikrobiologie. 1. vydání. Marvil, s. r. o., 1996. ISBN 80-238-0297-6.

RNDr. Eva Nohýnková, Ph.D. [přenáška z parazitologie]
VOLF, Petr a Petr HORÁK. Paraziti a jejich biologie. 1. vydání. Praha : Triton, 2007. 318 s. s. 78,80. ISBN 978-80-7387-008-9.