In vitro assessment of isometamidium chloride susceptibility of Trypanosoma vivax bloodstream forms

Abstract

Trypanosoma vivax is a major pathogen of cattle that has a considerable impact on livestock productivity. Research on T. vivax isolates has been hampered because laboratory animals are often not susceptible to infection and the organisms are difficult to culture. Non-rodent infective organisms derived directly from bovine blood have not been adapted to bloodstream form cultures, but culture systems for T. vivax have been reported that enable the propagation of bloodstream forms derived either from metacyclics (Hirumi et al. 1983; Zweygarth et al 1991) or from mouse blood (Brun and Moloo 1982; Zweygarth et al 1991). We used these culture systems to examine four T. vivax stocks for their susceptibility to isometamidium chloride in vitro.