What is the Difference Between African and American Trypanosomiasis

The key difference between African and American trypanosomiasis is that Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of African trypanosomiasis while Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of American trypanosomiasis.

Trypanosomiasis is the name given for several diseases in vertebrates caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus Trypanosoma. In humans, two major trypanosomiasis conditions can be seen: African and American trypanosomiasis. African trypanosomiasis is also known as sleeping sickness, while American trypanosomiasis is known as Chagas disease. A number of other trypanosomiasis diseases occur in other vertebrate animals as well.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is African Trypanosomiasis
3. What is American Trypanosomiasis
4. Similarities – African and American Trypanosomiasis
5. African vs American Trypanosomiasis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – African vs American Trypanosomiasis

What is African Trypanosomiasis?

African trypanosomiasis is a type of trypanosomiasis caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. This disease is prominent in sub-Saharan Africa, and the parasite is transmitted to humans by the tsetse fly. Two subtypes of this parasite infect humans: they are the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (TbG) and the Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (TbR). Trypanosoma brucei gambiense causes 98 % of reported cases. However, both are most common in rural areas and are usually transmitted by the bite of the infected tsetse fly. The first stage of the disease is characterized by symptoms such as fevers, headaches, itchiness, and joint pains. The second stage of the disease is characterized by symptoms like confusion, poor coordination, numbness, and trouble sleeping. Additional symptoms may include trypanosomal chancre, intermittent fever, lymphadenopathy, skin rash, hemolytic anemia, abnormal liver function, sleep disturbances, spleenomegaly, endocrine disturbance, and cardiac involvement, such as congestive heart failure and ophthalmic involvement.

Moreover, the diagnosis of African trypanosomiasis can be carried out through microscopic examination (blood smear, chancre fluid, lymph node aspirates, and cerebrospinal fluid), serological testing such as micro-CATT, wb-CATT, and wb-LATEX and PCR testing. Furthermore, treatments for African trypanosomiasis are through medications such as pentamidine, suramin, eflornithine, nifurtimox, fexinidazole, and melarsoprol.

What is American Trypanosomiasis?

American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease is a trypanosomiasis caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. It is mostly confined to the Latin America region and is spread by insects in the subfamily Triatominae known as kissing bugs. The acute phase symptoms may include swelling in the infection site, fever, fatigue, rash, body aches, eyelid swelling, headache, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, swollen glands, and enlargement of the liver or spleen. The chronic phase symptoms are irregular heartbeat, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrests, difficulty swallowing due to an enlarged esophagus, and stomach pain or constipation due to an enlarged colon.

American trypanosomiasis can be diagnosed through physical examination, blood tests, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, echocardiogram, abdominal X-ray, upper endoscopy, and PCR testing. Furthermore, the treatment options for American trypanosomiasis include medications such as benznidazole and nifurtimox (Lampit), pacemakers for heart-related complications and diet changes, medications, corticosteroids, and surgery for digestive tract-related complications.

What are the Similarities Between African and American Trypanosomiasis?

• African and American trypanosomiasis are two types of trypanosomiasis seen in humans.
• Both are caused by infective parasites in the genus of Trypanosoma.
• In both cases, the parasite is transmitted to humans through a peculiar fly or bug.
• Both diseases can be diagnosed through physical examination and blood testing.
• These conditions are mainly treated through anti-parasitic drugs.

What is the Difference Between African and American Trypanosomiasis?

African trypanosomiasis is caused by Trypanosoma brucei, while American trypanosomiasis is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Thus, this is the key difference between African and American trypanosomiasis. Furthermore, African trypanosomiasis is transmitted by the tsetse fly to humans, while American trypanosomiasis is transmitted by the triatomine or kissing bug.

The below infographic presents the differences between African and American trypanosomiasis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – African vs American Trypanosomiasis

Trypanosomiasis is caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus Trypanosoma. In humans, two major trypanosomiasis diseases can be seen: African and American trypanosomiasis. African trypanosomiasis is caused by a parasite known as Trypanosoma brucei while American trypanosomiasis is caused by a parasite known as Trypanosoma cruzi. So, this is the key difference between African and American trypanosomiasis.

Reference:

1. Krishna, Sanjeev, and August Stich. “Trypanosomiasis: African and American.” Medicine, Elsevier, 30 Oct. 2006.
2. “Chagas Disease.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Nov. 2020.

Image Courtesy:

1. “PMC5373517 pntd.0005324.g001” By Joan Gómez-Junyent,1,* María Jesús Pinazo,1 Pedro Castro,2 Sara Fernández,2 Jordi Mas,1 Cristian Chaguaceda,3 Martina Pellicé,2 Joaquim Gascón,1 and José Muñoz1 – NCBI (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Trypanosoma cruzi LifeCycle” from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Public Domain) via Picryl