Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Group 2: The Unusual Suspect

Vincent Jamonneau; Philippe Truc; Pascal Grébaut; Stéphane Herder; Sophie Ravel; Philippe Solano; Thierry De Meeus

doi:10.1016/j.pt.2019.09.002

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Group 2: The Unusual Suspect

Trends Parasitol. 2019 Dec;35(12):983-995. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.09.002. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Authors

Vincent Jamonneau¹, Philippe Truc², Pascal Grébaut², Stéphane Herder², Sophie Ravel², Philippe Solano², Thierry De Meeus²

Affiliations

¹ INTERTRYP, IRD, Cirad, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France. Electronic address: vincent.jamonneau@ird.fr.
² INTERTRYP, IRD, Cirad, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France.

PMID: 31668893
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.09.002

Abstract

Trypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). Three subspecies were described: T. b. gambiense (Tbg) and T. b. rhodesiense (Tbr) in humans, and T. b. brucei (Tbb) in animals. Molecular markers subdivided Tbg into two groups: Tbg1 and Tbg2, of which the latter is different from Tbg1 and Tbr (absence of the SRA gene), but indistinguishable from Tbb. Tbg2 is considered to be a zoonotic form of HAT in West Africa. Tbg2 was found mainly in Côte d'Ivoire between 1978 and 1992, but the latest description was made in Ghana in 2013. New molecular tools would be welcome to characterize such infections and determine their origins (resistance to human serum or patient immunodeficiency) in the current context of HAT elimination.

Keywords: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense group 2; elimination; epidemiology; human African trypanosomiasis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Africa, Western / epidemiology
Animals
Demography
Genetic Markers / genetics
Humans
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense / classification*
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense / genetics
Trypanosomiasis, African / epidemiology
Trypanosomiasis, African / parasitology*

Substances

Genetic Markers