Objective: This study was conceived to investigate the pathogenicity of relapsed (Diminazene aceturate-resistant), field (original) and mixed (relapsed and field) isolates of Trypanosoma brucei brucei in rats.
Materials and methods: Twenty eight healthy adult albino rats of both sexes weighing between 149-177 gm were used to compare the pathogenicity of relapsed, field and the mixed isolates of T. brucei brucei infections. The rats were separated into four groups (A-D); where, group A was kept as uninfected control, and group B was infected with 1x103 trypanosomes of the field isolate and 1x103 trypanosomes of the diminazene aceturate resistant isolate. The rats of groups C and D were infected with 1x106 trypanosomes of the diminazene aceturate-resistant isolate and 1x106 trypanosomes of the field isolate, respectively.
Results: The infected rats became parasitemic within 4 to 8 days post-infection. The mean pre-patent periods (PP) were 4.1±1.1, 6.0±2.0 and 9.1±1.1 days in groups B, C and D respectively, while the mean survival time (ST) in groups B, C and D were 21.4±10.1, 27.1±13.2 and 34.0 ±12.8 days, respectively. The PP and ST were shortest (P
Key words: Field isolate; Mixed infections; Pathogenicity; Parasitemia; Relapsed isolate
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