Genetic Diversity of African Trypanosomes in Tsetse Flies and Cattle From the Kafue Ecosystem.

Yukiko Nakamura,Boniface Namangala,Victoire Delesalle,Martin Simuunza,Junya Yamagishi,Yongjin Qiu,Chihiro Sugimoto,Ryosuke Omori,Kyoko Hayashida

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.599815

Yukiko Nakamura, Boniface Namangala + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.599815

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Abstract

We clarified the genetic diversity of Trypanosoma spp. within the Kafue ecosystem, using PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 and the cathepsin L-like cysteine protease (CatL) sequences. The overall prevalence of Trypanosoma spp. in cattle and tsetse flies was 12.65 and 26.85%, respectively. Cattle positive for Trypanosoma vivax had a significantly lower packed cell volume, suggesting that T. vivax is the dominant Trypanosoma spp. causing anemia in this area. Among the 12 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of T. vivax CatL sequences detected, one was from a known T. vivax lineage, two OTUs were from known T. vivax-like lineages, and nine OTUs were considered novel T. vivax-like lineages. These findings support previous reports that indicated the extensive diversity of T. vivax-like lineages. The findings also indicate that combining CatL PCR with next generation sequencing is useful in assessing Trypanosoma spp. diversity, especially for T. vivax and T. vivax-like lineages. In addition, the 5.42% prevalence of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense found in cattle raises concern in the community and requires careful monitoring of human African trypanosomiasis.

Highlights

Diseases caused by the infection of Salivaria Trypanosoma spp. are of medical and veterinary importance in sub-Saharan Africa
Cattle infected with T. vivax had significantly lower mean packed cell volume (PCV) than non-infected cattle, indicating that T. vivax is the major Trypanosoma spp. causing anemia in this area
Since only seven cattle had a detectable level of parasitemia by microscopy, it is assumed that T. vivax causes chronic bovine trypanosomosis with low parasitemia

Summary

Introduction

Diseases caused by the infection of Salivaria Trypanosoma spp. are of medical and veterinary importance in sub-Saharan Africa. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and T. b. Several HAT cases have been reported from re-emerging HAT foci outside the major HAT foci, such as the case in Kafue National Park in 2016, which had been more than 50 years since the last documented case [4]. This suggests that the human infective T. b. This suggests that the human infective T. b. rhodesiense is being maintained within this ecosystem, which puts the local community at the risk of HAT

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