Waema Maxwell, Maina Naomi, Karanja Simon, Gachie Beatrice, Ngotho Maina, Kagira John
Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.
Biochemistry Department, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.
Afr J Lab Med. 2014 Oct 29;3(1):100. doi: 10.4102/ajlm.v3i1.100. eCollection 2014.
There are three subspecies of : and . The first two are infectious to humans, whilst is not. Identifying an animal model of that mimics human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) would enable researchers to study HAT without subjecting themselves to undue risks such as accidental infection.
This study assessed the sequential clinical, parasitological and haematological changes in vervet monkeys infected with .
Three vervet monkeys were infected with a 10 inoculum of (isolate GUTat 1). Late-stage disease was induced by subcurative treatment with diminazene aceturate 28 days post-infection. The animals were treated curatively with melarsoprol upon relapse. Parasitaemia and clinical signs were monitored daily and, at weekly intervals, the monkeys' blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were sampled for haematology and parasitosis assessments, respectively.
The first-peak parasitaemia was observed between seven and nine days post-infection. Clinical signs associated with the disease included fever, dullness, pallor of mucous membranes, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly and oedema. Late-stage signs included stiffness of joints and lethargy. The monkeys developed a disease associated with microcytic hypochromic anaemia. There was an initial decline, followed by an increase, in total white blood cell counts from early- to late-stage disease. Trypanosomes were detected in the CSF and there was a significant increase in white cell counts in the CSF during late-stage disease. Infected vervet monkeys displayed classical clinical symptoms, parasitological and haematological trends that were similar to monkeys infected with .
The vervet monkey model can be used for studying HAT without putting laboratory technicians and researchers at high risk of accidental infection.
有三个亚种： 和 。前两个亚种可感染人类，而 不会。确定一种能模拟人类非洲锥虫病（HAT）的 动物模型，将使研究人员能够在不使自己面临意外感染等不当风险的情况下研究HAT。
本研究评估了感染 的绿猴的连续临床、寄生虫学和血液学变化。
三只绿猴接种了10 （分离株GUTat 1）的接种物。感染后28天用乙酰氨基苯脒进行亚治疗剂量治疗诱导晚期疾病。复发时用美拉胂醇对动物进行根治性治疗。每天监测寄生虫血症和临床症状，每周采集一次猴子的血液和脑脊液（CSF）样本，分别进行血液学和寄生虫病评估。
感染后7至9天观察到首次寄生虫血症高峰。与该疾病相关的临床症状包括发热、精神萎靡、黏膜苍白、淋巴结病、脾肿大和水肿。晚期症状包括关节僵硬和嗜睡。猴子患上了与小细胞低色素性贫血相关的疾病。从疾病早期到晚期，白细胞总数最初下降，随后上升。在脑脊液中检测到锥虫，晚期疾病期间脑脊液中的白细胞计数显著增加。感染的绿猴表现出与感染 的猴子相似的典型临床症状、寄生虫学和血液学趋势。
绿猴模型可用于研究HAT，而不会使实验室技术人员和研究人员面临意外感染的高风险。
