‘Surveillance … will be key’

According to Phys.org, researchers from France and Africa have developed a new and improved method for detecting trypanosome parasites in livestock.

African trypanosomiasis (AAT) comes from parasites that harm millions of livestock each year in Africa, resulting in a significant economic impact, with an approximate yearly loss of $4.75 billion USD in agricultural GDP. 

Worst yet, infected livestock may harbor human-infectious trypanosomes (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. As such, monitoring and controlling transmission is vital to the region.

In research published by the French and African researchers, they shared more about their improvements to an existing mapping tool to track AAT and how it may help prevent the future spread of this parasite to humans.

One of the study’s co-authors explained to Phys.org, “Active and accurate surveillance of the infection status of domestic animals using reliable diagnostic tools will be key to reaching and sustaining the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating HAT. However, current methods for diagnosing AAT are limited by a lack of sensitivity and reliability.”

In order to improve the sensitivity and reliability of diagnosing, the research team improved a molecular diagnostic detection method known as Specific High-Sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter unLOCKing (SHERLOCK). This detection method has already proven successful in locating HAT, so the research team created a collection of assays that can detect AAT, all from just a simple dried drop of blood, called SHERLOCK4AAT.

Researchers first targeted DNA within species-specific regions of trypanosomes and then created assays around these utilizing sequences for the 18S ribosomal RNA and GAPDH genes. The team’s first test focused on a target that had previously been shown to be able to detect HAT in blood with a 93% specificity. The results of the test showed an increase in the sensitivity when the researchers supplemented it with a second guide RNA.

When the researchers switched to species-specific tests, they were not able to locate genes differentiating between species but found their improved detection method could determine the difference in related species causing AAT, meaning the method was comparable to already existing methods.

Once the research team had determined that SHERLOCK4AAT indeed had increased sensitivity in detecting trypanosomes, they applied the method to farm and free-ranging pigs in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. Doing this, researchers discovered that around 63% of the pigs carried one or more trypanosome species, and a single animal in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire carried a HAT.

The implications of the study show that with SHERLOCK4AAT, scientists could monitor livestock to keep track of human-infectious trypanosomes, which could help prevent future outbreaks of sleeping sickness in local communities, aiding in the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating HAT and keeping humans healthier. 

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Utilization of this detection method would also significantly contribute to the global sustainability goal of cleaning up the food and agriculture industries by keeping infected livestock away from markets.

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