Abstract
Sleeping sickness or human African trypanosomosis is a fatal tropical neglected disease. The disease spreads in sub-Saharan Africa and transmitted by tsetse in genus Glossina. There are two subspecies of Trypanosoma brucei, T. b. rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense, as causing agents. T. b. rhodesiense endemics in east and south Africa and causes acute form. Although T. b. gambiense causes chronic form and occurs in the west and central parts of Africa. The first trypanocide is developed and used near a century ago. The available drugs are very scarce and the second stage medicine exhibits high toxicity. There are no new antitrypanosomal drugs recently discovered. In addition, drug resistance is a critical issue that affects patients. Trypanosomes can evade the host's immune response by antigenic variation coat, variant surface glycoproteins hampering the success of the current drug regimen. This chapter briefly covers all the aspects of sleeping sickness particularly the new approaches that aim to eradicate African trypanosomes, such as medicinal plants, epigenetics, and tsetse control by entomopathogens. The decline of new cases lead WHO to remove sleeping sickness from the public health problem. However, relevant research studies must continue to sustain the disease-free status of sleeping sickness.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Molecular Advancements in Tropical Diseases Drug Discovery |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Pages | 117-132 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128212028 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780128213971 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2020 |
Keywords
- Africa
- Human African trypanosomosis
- Sleeping sickness
- Trypanosoma brucei gambiense
- Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense