Effect of <i>trypanosoma congolense</i> and <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i> mixed infection on the pattern of haematological changes in murine trypanosmosis

Abstract

The effect of Trypanosoma congolense and T. brucei mixed infection on the pattern of haematological changes was demonstrated in a rat model. At the end of 21 days post infection (PI), anaemia which was characterised by drop in the packed cell volume (PCV), was found to be significantly (P<0.05) severer in rats with mixed infection than those infected with T. congolense or T. brucei. Similar pattern of drop in the total white blood cell (WBC), differential WBC, and platelet counts was observed in the group with mixed infection. It was concluded that even though T. congolense and T. brucei may cause milder haematological changes in animals compared to T. vivax, mixed infection by these parasites may cause severer haematological changes in the natural hosts.


Keywords: mixed infections, pattern of haematological changes, rats, Trypanosoma congolense, Trypanosoma brucei


African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 193-197