Sleeping sickness is believed to be caused by a minuscule parasite that leads to an intense infection in the brain and the meninges, which is the covering of the brain and spinal cord. Experts from the University of Edinburgh have offered new details into the survival strategy of the sleeping sickness parasite. This apparently has the ability to notify treatments for the disease.
The parasite can seemingly change itself into any two physical forms. Scientists have examined that this parasite has rendered a precise balance between these. One of these types supposedly assures infection in the bloodstream of an individual. In addition, the other type may be taken up by the tsetse fly and further spread to another human being or animal. The parasite allegedly maintains an exchange between providing sufficient parasites to protect the immune response and cause infection.
“Sleeping sickness parasites alter their form in order to ensure their survival and spread. We hope that, having discovered more about how these parasites behave, we will be able to develop ways of interfering with their survival strategy and interrupt the spread of this disease,†commented Professor Keith Matthews, School of Biological Sciences.
This also makes certain adequate parasites to seemingly allow the spread of the disease. Investigators utilized a blend of biological and mathematical techniques to evaluate how the parasite balances production of each of the forms. These findings allegedly provide better perceptive of how the parasite reciprocates to its surrounding to make sure its survival in the short term and long-term spread of disease.
The research was published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.