Chemotherapeutic Approaches Against Trypanosoma evansi: Retrospective Analysis, Current Status and Future Outlook

Abstract

Trypanosoma evansi, the causative agent of surra, is pathogenic to a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, including equines, camels, goats, sheep, cattle, buffaloes, pigs, dogs, tigers, elephants etc. The infection is mainly restricted to animals but ability to infect human beings has also been reported due to the lack of efficient apolipoprotein L 1. The parasite is mechanically transmitted by blood-sucking flies such as Tabanus and Stomoxys species. The disease has a major economic impact in tropical countries. The control of trypanosomosis may be aimed either at the fly or against the parasite. Due to difficulties in large scale fly control, trypanocides have been widely used to control the disease. However, current chemotherapeutic agents are limited in number and usually associated with severe side effects. Moreover, current therapeutic agents are far from ideal. The emergence of drug resistant trypanosomes …