Pathogenicity of Crithidia fasciculata in the haemocoele of Glossina.

The mosquito flagellate Crithidia fasciculata produces intense haemocoelic infections following intrahaemocoelic inoculation into 5 species of Glossina--G. austeni, G. fuscipes fuscipes, G. morsitans morsitans, G. palpalis gambiensis and G. tachinoides. All Glossina inoculated with C. fasciculata died between days 4 and 9. Neither Trypanosoma brucei procyclics nor Leishmania hertigi promastigotes similarly inoculated into Glossina species, at the same dose, multiplied within the haemocoele and no deaths were recorded during the first 10 days post-injection. No mortalities amongst sham-injected controls occurred over the 10-day period.