The Antigenic Character of the 'Brucei' Trypanosomes

Abstract

The causative agents of 'sleeping sickness' are two trypanosome species of the brucei sub-group, Hoare (1957), namely Trypanosoma rhodesiense and T. gambiense. The disease especially that due to T. gambiense, is typically chronic, lasting several months or years with the intermittent appearance of parasites in the blood. Ultimately the trypanosomes invade the central nervous system with the subsequent onset of 'sleeping'.