Epidemiology and Economic Importance of African Animal Trypanosomiasis

Abstract

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT), also called Nagana, is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by an extracellular protozoan belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. It has serious effects on the health status and welfare of domestic mammals which considerably results in a reduction in their productivity. In this review, a comprehensive overview of the epidemiology of AAT was provided with a special focus on its general clinical aspects (the clinical signs and pathogenesis as well as its transmission cycle), the parasite (Trypanosoma spp.), the parasite life cycle and transmission, its vector (Glossina spp.), tsetse fly lifecycle and reproduction, risk factors of AAT, and economic importance of AAT in the affected countries. The present work gave a detailed account of epidemiology in the context of infestation patterns, the parasite causing it, its vector, and the economic impacts of the disease on different livestock species.