Published Date: 2000-07-08 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH> Trypanosomiasis, bengal tigers - India (Orissa) (02)
Archive Number: 20000708.1139
TRYPANOSOMIASIS, BENGAL TIGERS - INDIA (ORISSA) (02)
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See Also
Trypanosomiasis, bengal tigers - India (Orissa) 2000.28681999
----
Trypanosomiasis? zoo tigers - Bangladesh (Dhaka) 19990830213704
Trypanosomiasis? - Sri Lanka: RFI 19990707004230
Trypanosomiasis? - Sri Lanka (04) 19990719223426
Trypanosomiasis? - Sri Lanka (06 19990726220736
Date: 7 Jun 2000
From: Jack Woodall <woodall@bioqmed.ufrj.br>
There are no tsetse flies in India.
In ref. [04 above, Dr O. Diall of the Central Veterinary Laboratory,
Bamako, Mali, wrote apropos of a case of trypanosomiasis in a herder in Sri
Lanka: "Tsetse flies being absent from Asia I believe it is a non-tsetse
transmitted tryp. Those are _T.evansi_, _T.vivax_, _T.cruzi_ and
_T.equiperdum_. _T.vivax_ infects mainly ruminants. _T.evansi_ infects
camels in Africa but a wider range of hosts in Asia e.g. water
buffaloes,pigs, cattle, sheep and goats etc. _T.equiperdum_ affects [only
equines and is sexually transmitted. _T.cruzi_ causes Chagas' disease which
is common in South America. If the parasite can be isolated and grown there
are nowadays enough methods which distinguish the different species."
In the same ref.[04, Carlos Brisola Marcondes writes: "According to Hoare
(1972- 'Trypanosomes of mammals'), _ T. theileri_ occurs in many regions,
including India, but experimental infections in other animals than cattle
failed; flies and ticks were suspected as mechanical vectors." I do not
have the book, so cannot check if carnivores were among the animals tested.
I can think of 3 ways in which these tigers could have been infected by
trypanosomes.
1) If it is an Asian trypanosome species, by bite of a blood-sucking fly
from a local reservoir host, in which case questioning livestock owners
near the zoo might reveal cases of the disease.
2) If it is an African or American trypanosome species, there was spread
from an infected exotic animal species in the zoo by bite of a
blood-sucking fly. But last year we had an African immigrant in Brazil with
active trypanosomiasis, & I asked an entomologist colleague about the risk
of transmission by local blood-sucking flies. He replied that their
metabolism would likely be so different from that of the tsetse that there
would be no risk.
3) There could have been transmission by dirty needles previously used on
an infected African or American animal species. For example, all the large
animals in the zoo could have been immunized against tuberculosis or rabies
using the same syringe & needle -- a common practice in veterinary medicine
in some places.
It is disappointing that we never heard the final diagnosis in either the
case of the human in Sri Lanka or the tigers in Bangladesh.
--
Jack Woodall
<woodall@promedmail.org>
[ProMED-mail has received numerous comments from subscribers about the
report, which indicated the presence of tsetse flies in India. Here is one
such comment. - Man. Ed. DS
*****
[2
Date: 7 Jul 2000 12:53:18 PDT
From: "jk 55" <jk55@hotmail.com>
Tsetse in India?!? As far as I am aware, tsetse [_Glossina_ spp. are found
only in Africa, mostly within specific areas of southeastern Africa and of
Western Africa that are known as 'fly belts.' This sounds like another of
these vague reports full of errors that seems all too common with
unprofessional 'disease reporting' in India.
Also, the proper common name of these insects is tsetse, because this word
means 'fly.' ('tsetse fly' is redundant).
Below are a few recent references.
1. Hendrickx G, Napala A, Slingenbergh JH, De Deken R, Vercruysse J, Rogers
DJ. 2000. The spatial pattern of trypanosomosis prevalence predicted with
the aid of satellite imagery. Parasitology. 120 (Pt. 2):121-134.
2. Moore A, Richer M, Enrile M, Losio E, Roberts J, Levy D. 1999.
Resurgence of sleeping sickness in Tambura County, Sudan. Amer. J. Trop.
Med. Hyg. 61(2):315-318.
3. Hendrickx G, Napala A, Rogers D, Bastiaensen P, Slingenbergh J. Can
remotely sensed meteorological data significantly contribute to reduce
costs of tsetse surveys? 1999. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz. 1999
Mar-Apr;94(2):273-6. at
<http://www.scielo.br/cgi-bin/fbpe/fbtext?got=last&pid=S0074-02761999000200028&usr=fbpe&lng=en&nrm=iso&sss=1&aut=71981947>
4. Rogers DJ, Randolph SE 1993. Distribution of tsetse and ticks in Africa,
past, present and future. Parasitol Today 9: 266-271.
5. Van den Bossche P, Shumba W, Makhambera P. 2000. The distribution and
epidemiology of bovine trypanosomosis in Malawi. Vet. Parasitol.
88(3-4):163-176.
--
R.C. Sponsler
M.S. Entomology
<jk55@hotmail.com>
..........................................jw/ds
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