What is the Difference Between Trypanosoma Gambiense and Trypanosoma Rhodesiense?

Trypanosoma gambiense and Trypanosoma rhodesiense are two subspecies of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei that cause Human African Trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, in humans. They are transmitted to humans by various subspecies of Glossina (tsetse flies). There are some differences between the two subspecies:

Distribution: T. gambiense is endemic in West and Central Africa, while T. rhodesiense is restricted to East and Southeast Africa. Their ranges do not overlap, except in Uganda, where both subspecies are co-endemic.
Clinical Presentation: T. gambiense causes chronic African trypanosomiasis, also known as West African sleeping sickness, while T. rhodesiense causes acute African trypanosomiasis, or East African sleeping sickness.
Reservoir Hosts: Humans are considered the main reservoir for T. gambiense, but this species can also be found in animals, including primates and ungulates. Domestic cattle are thought to be the most epidemiologically-relevant animal reservoir of T. rhodesiense.
Epidemiology: In 2020, fewer than 100 cases of East African trypanosomiasis were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), while more than 50% of the cases of West African trypanosomiasis reported to WHO were from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Both subspecies of Trypanosoma brucei are morphologically indistinguishable, and their diagnosis has been a challenge in epidemiological studies.

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What is the Difference Between Trypanosoma Gambiense and Trypanosoma Rhodesiense?

Comparative Table: Trypanosoma Gambiense vs Trypanosoma Rhodesiense

Trypanosoma Gambiense and Trypanosoma Rhodesiense are two subspecies of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei that cause Human African Trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness. Here is a table highlighting the differences between the two:

Feature	Trypanosoma Gambiense	Trypanosoma Rhodesiense
Distribution	Central and West Africa	East and Southern Africa
Countries with highest incidence	Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Sudan, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Chad, Uganda	Uganda, Tanzania
Animal reservoir	Humans are the main reservoir, although the parasite can sometimes be found in domestic animals (e.g., pigs, dogs, goats)	Cattle are the main animal reservoir
Clinical features	Fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, and inflammation of the lymph nodes	Fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, and inflammation of the lymph nodes
Neurological symptoms	Severe headache, mental dullness and apathy, a weary shuffling gait, tremors, spastic or flaccid paralysis, chorea, and profound sleepiness that develops during a meal or when the patient is undisturbed	Severe headache, mental dullness and apathy, a weary shuffling gait, tremors, spastic or flaccid paralysis, chorea, and profound sleepiness that develops during a meal or when the patient is undisturbed
Transmission	By the bite of the tsetse fly (Glossina species)	By the bite of the tsetse fly (Glossina species)
Human serum resistance	Group 1 T. b. gambiense has an invariant phenotype of high resistance to human serum, while Group 2 T. b. gambiense variably displays this phenotype.	T. b. rhodesiense is able to resist lysis by human serum.

Both subspecies are transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly and cause similar clinical features and neurological symptoms. However, they differ in their distribution, animal reservoirs, and human serum resistance phenotypes.

Guilherme Mazui

Guilherme Mazui is graduated in journalism from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a master's degree in Communication from the University of São Paulo (USP). In addition, he has experience in advertising writing and has worked as a content editor in several companies.