VPAR101

ENTOMOLOGY ANDPARASITOLOGY
TOPIC: 12

Family of Protozoan under the Order Epimastigote form- kinetoplast and

Trypanosomastida
Haemoflagellates (associated with blood) belonging to the
family Trypanosomatidae:
• Genus Trypanosoma
• Genus Leishmania
• Members of the genus Trypanosoma are found in
the bloodstream and tissues of vertebrates
throughout the world.
• Cause of morbidity and mortality in animals and
humans in tropical regions.
• T. equiperdum, which is transmitted venereally –
-
all have an arthropod vector, is non-pathogenic.
MORPHOLOGY
• Trypanosomes have a leaf‐like or rounded body
containing a vesicular nucleus, and a varying
number of sub‐pellicular microtubules lying
beneath the outer membrane.
• A single flagellum arising from a kinetosome or
basal granule.
• An undulating membrane is present in some
genera and the flagellum lies on its outer border.
• Posterior to the kinetosome is a rod‐shaped or
spherical kinetoplast (large mitochondrion)
containing DNA.
• Originally, they are parasites of the intestinal tract
of insects.
• Others are heteroxenous, spending part of their
life cycle in a vertebrate host and part in an
invertebrate host.
LIFE CYCLE
• Members of the genus Trypanosoma are
heteroxenous and pass-through amastigote,
promastigote, epimastigote and tryptomastigote
stages in their life cycle.
• In some species only tryptomastigote forms are
found in the vertebrate host; others, both
amastigote and tryptomastigote forms are
present.
o Tryptomastigote form- kinetoplast and
kinetosome are near the posterior end
and the flagellum forms the border of an
-
o
kinetosome are just posterior to the
nucleus and the undulating membrane
runs forward from there.
o Promastigote form- kinetoplast and
kinetosome are still further anterior in the
body and there is no undulating
membrane. (Found in insects; commly in
Leishmania; the stage that enters the
mammals; extracellular)
o Amastigote form- the body is rounded
and the flagellum emerges from the body
through a wide funnel‐shaped reservoir.
(Found inside the cell of a mammal;
intracellular). There’s no amastigote in
other Trypanosoma except in the
Trypanosoma cruzi.
REPRODUCTION
• Asexual by binary fission (clonal expansion)
• Sexual reproduction is very rare
TRANSMISSION
• Non-cyclical transmission: the arthropod serves
as mechanical vector (the parasite does not
develop or multiply inside the insect).
• Cyclical transmission: the arthropod serves as
the intermediate host (IH)
o Salivaria trypanosomes use the anterior
station development
▪ Multiplication occurs in the
digestive tract or proboscis
o Stercorarian trypanosomes use the
posterior station development
▪ Multiplication occurs in the gut
and the infective forms migrate
to the rectum. (The insect feed
on the skin and release feces;
infection may happen through
scratching)
Trypanosoma species
Species Subgenus Hosts Vector
Salivarian
Trypanosoma Duttonella Cattle, Tsetse flies
vivax sheep, goat
horse,
camel, wild
ruminant

Trypanosoma Nannomonas Cattle, Tsetse flies

undulating membrane that extends along congolense sheep, goat
the side of the body to the anterior end. horse, pig,
(found on the blood stream, hindgut, camel, wild
ruminant
midgut and salivary gland of insect)
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VPAR101
ENTOMOLOGY ANDPARASITOLOGY
TOPIC: 12

Trypanosoma Nannomonas Pig, camel, Tsetse flies o Cause fatal nagana disease in domestic
simiae sheep, goat ruminants.
Trypanosoma Trypanozoon Cattle, Tsetse flies
brucei sheep, goat, (T.b evansi: o makes humans always sleepy
T. brucei brucei horse, Tabanus, o Trypanosoma brucei is pleomorphic in
T. brucei evansi donkey, Stomoxys; form and ranges from long and slender,
camel, pig, Haematopot up to 42 μm (average 29 μm), to short
dog, cat a)
wild game and stumpy.
animals o T.b. brucei is virulent in dogs, camels
T. brucei Trypanozoon Human Tsetse flies and horses.
gambiense o T. congolense is the most pathogenic
T. brucei
rhodesiense =
trypanosome in cattle (followed by T.
T. brucei Trypanozoon Horse None vivax)
equiperdum (coitus)
Trypanosoma Pycnomonas Pig Tsetse flies
suis
Life cycle: (Aftican Tryponosomiasis)
Trypanosoma Trypanomorpha Birds Biting
avium insects, red • Inoculation of the vector. The metacyclic
mites trypomastigote in inoculated into the humans by
Trypanosoma Trypanomorpha Chicken Biting tsetse fly (Glossina)
gallinarum insects • Trypomastigote transform in the bloodstream
Stercorarian
Trypanosoma Megatrypanum Cattle, wild Tabanids,
• They undergo binary fission (can be found in the
theileiri ruminants hippoboscid blood, lymph, spinal fluid, semen)
flies • They become circulating trypomastigote
Trypanosoma Megatrypanum Sheep Sheep ked parasitizing the body of the host (no significant
melophagium
effect on reservoir host; they become dormant in
Trypanosoma Megatrypanum Deer Tabanid,
cervi hippoboscid latent phase)
flies • The insect will take other blood meal. The
Trypanosoma Herpetosoma Rat Fleas Trypomastigote in the blood of the host will be
lewsii
ingested by the insect.
Trypanosoma Herpetosoma Mouse Fleas
musculi • They will undergo again binary fission and will
Trypanosoma Schizotrypanum Human, Reduvid become procyclic trypomastigote in the midgut
cruzi primates, bugs of tsetse fly.
dogs, cats
• Procyclic trypomastigote leave the midgut and
transform into an epimastigote.
Countries where the most important livestock • It will undergo other binary fission to become
trypanosomes are present: metacyclic trypomastigote and will be found on
the salivary gland, ready to inoculate human.

• Trypanosoma vivax
o Important to livestock in West Africa
o High parasitemia associated with
extensive mucosal and serosal
hemorrhages.
Africa- T. congolense T. Vivax + T.b. evarsi (Asia) o Chronic disease in cattle results in
South America- T. vivax- T. evansi anemia and emaciation
o Exported to South America -Transmitted
Genus Trypanosoma by tabanids and uses deer as reservoir.
o Characteristic- do not go into the
Tsetse-transmitted sub-Saharan African trypanosomes: midgut; remind only in the salivary area
(proboscis); has short life cycle
• Trypanosoma brucei (pleomorphic) and =
therefore, it can easily be transmitted
Trypanosoma congolense (monomorphic) mechanically.
-

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VPAR101
ENTOMOLOGY ANDPARASITOLOGY
TOPIC: 12
• Trypanosoma simiae
o The only trypanosome species to be
extremely pathogenic to pigs.
-In general, most of the species cause anemia due to
immune mediated impact on the erythropoietic system of
the animal; there is an increase erythrophagocytosis.
They also can induce decrease production of RBC.
(Hemolysis cannot be the cause since they do not enter
in the cell)
Non-Tsetse dipteran-vectored trypanosomes:
• Trypanosoma evansi
o Occurs in Africa north of the Sahara,
Asia, and tropical America
o Causes surra of all species of domestic
animals.
o Surra is characterized by anemia, weight
loss, and recurrent fever
o Transmitted by Flies of the family
Tabanidae and vampire bats serve as
vectors.
• Trypanosoma equinum
o Causes a disease called mal de
caderas in horses in South America
±
o Similar to surra in biology and disease
manifestations.
Sexually transmitted trypanosomes:
• Trypanosoma equiperdum
o Transmission occurs through direct
sexual contact
o Causes the equine venereal disease
called dourine
o Acute stage:
▪ Swelling of the genitalia and a
mucoid discharge
▪ Presence of circular, flattened,
"silver dollar" plaques in the skin
o Chronic stage:
▪ Emaciation, paresis (incomplete
paralysis), intermittent fever,
and death.
American triatomine-transmitted trypanosomes:
• Trypanosoma cruzi
o Etiologic agent of American
trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) of
human and dog
o Transmitted by triatomine bugs (kissing
bugs) of the genera: Triatoma,
Rhodnius, and Panstrongylus
o Reservoir host: Opossums,
o armadillos, rats, guinea pigs, cats,
raccoons, and monkeys
o Monomorphic
o Life cycle:
▪ Kissing bugs only bite humans
at night, they bite the host and
defecate. Infection may start
when the host scratch its skin
with feces of kissing bugs on it.
▪ The vectors of T. cruzi are
kissing bugs (Reduviidae) and,
once ingested, the
trypomastigotes pass to the
midgut where they turn into
amastigote forms.
▪ These multiply by binary fission
and turn into either metacyclic
trypomastigote or epimastigote
forms.
▪ Epimastigote forms multiply
further and extend into the
rectum, where they turn into
metacyclic trypomastigotes,
which pass out in the faeces.
▪ Infective trypomastigotes can
actively penetrate the mucous
=
-
membrane or skin of the final
host.
Nonpathogenic trypanosomes:
• Trypanosoma cervi
• Found in Alaskan reindeer (Rangifer tarandus),
white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), elk,
and mule deer in North America
• Trypanosoma theileri
• Harmless parasite of cattle transmitted by
tabanid flies worldwide
• Trypanosoma melophagium
• Harmless parasite of sheep transmitted by the
sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus
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VPAR101
ENTOMOLOGY ANDPARASITOLOGY
TOPIC: 12

▪ amastigotes develop into

How trypanosomes evade the immune system?
• They have variable surface protein (VSG) that
change during colonal expansion. (first batch of
binary fission is different from the second batch
in terms of structure in the surface; therefore the
anti-bodies produced in the first batch is no
longer effective on the second batch)
promastigotes, multiplying by
division, in the gut of the sandfly
• Leishmania tropica
o Causes cutaneous leishmaniasis in
humans, dogs, rodents, and wild
mammals in Eurasia and Africa.

How to diagnose animal trypanosomiasis? • Leishmania Mexicana

• A presumptive diagnosis can be made if
trypanosomes are observed by direct
microscopic examination of blood, lymph nodes
(e.g., smears of needle biopsies), edema fluid or
tissues collected at necropsy. Organisms are
most likely to be found in the blood during the
initial stages of the infection. (google)
o Causes cutaneous lesions in animals
• Leishmania braziliensis
o Causes mucocutaneous leishmaniasis
in the Americas.
Leishmaniasis:

How to control animal trypanosomiasis; How to treat Visceral leishmaniasis

animal trypanosomiasis?
• Trypanosomiasis can be controlled by treating
livestock with trypanocides or insecticide –
killing parasites or vectors, respectively.
Mathematical modeling of trypanosomiasis was
used to compare the impact of drug- and
insecticide-based interventions on R 0 with
varying densities of cattle, humans and wild
hosts. (google)
Genus Leishmania
Cutaneous leishmaniasis
• Leishmania donovani; Leishmania infantum
o The major causes of human visceral
leishmaniasis (kala-azar)- originated in
India (Transmitted by Phlebotomine
• Mammalian host:
o Macrophages provide a means by which
the parasite is disseminated throughout
the body.
o Tissues with large numbers of parasites
include the spleen, liver, bone marrow,
intestinal mucosa, and mesenteric lymph
nodes.
o Dogs (major reservoir host) develop
cutaneous lesions.
• Mammalian host:
o Most cases found in cats
o typically presenting as nodular lesions
on the face

÷
flies)
o Life cycle of Leishmania infantum:
▪ Dog gets infected when the
sandfly inoculates
promastigotes of Leishmania
▪ The promastigotes lose their
flagella, developing into
amastigotes. They infect
macrophages
▪ Depending on the canine
immune response, it can
develop into a condition called
visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-
azar) or cutaneous leishmaniasis
▪ Sandfly obtains parasitic
amastigotes