Molecular Epidemiology of Trypanosomes Infecting Humans and Cattle

This book gives details on the status of trypanosome infections in tsetse flies caught in Simanjiro District, Tanzania. Simanjiro is part of the Maasai steppe which covers some part of Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya. Simanjiro District lies between 3o 52’ and 4o 24’ South and 36o 05’and 36o 39’ East and borders with Tarangire National Park on the Eastern side. The area is known to have high humans, livestock and wildlife interactions. This interaction, favors the spread of zoonotic diseases which can be transmitted from wildlife to livestock and humans. Wild animals are known to be reservoir hosts of trypanosome which cause both humans and animals trypanosomiasis. The area is also infested by tsetse flies which are the biological vectors of trypanosome. The knowledge on tsetse distribution and dynamics enable understanding the epidemiology of human and animal trypanosomiasis. Prevalence of trypanosome infections in three species of tsetse flies identified in Simanjiro was determined by PCR done using universal primers which amplifies the ITS region of all species of trypanosome.