[Animal reservoir hosts of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in Zaire: trypanosome infections in two foci in Bas-Zaire]. / Le réservoir animal de Trypanosoma brucei gambiense au Zaire: infections trypanosomiennes dans deux foyers du Bas-Zaire.

The prevalence of Trypanosoma spp. infections in domestic animals was estimated in a forest (Boma) and a savanna (Kimpese) sleeping focus in Bas-Zaire. The miniature anion-exchange centrifugation technique was used to determine the infection rates with T. congolense, T. vivax and T. brucei spp. in 505 animals. T. congolense predominated in both foci with the highest prevalence in pigs (76.2%), followed by sheep (31.3%), dogs (30.6%) and goats (7.4%). T. vivax was seen only on two occasions. In the forest zone, T. brucei spp. infections were frequent (pigs 16.5%, sheep 6.2%, dogs 3.4%, goats 1.1%) in contrast to the savanna area where only one T. brucei spp. infection was diagnosed. Twenty five primary isolations of T. brucei were done using different isolation and stabilization approaches. Isolates and stocks await behavioural, biochemical and molecular biological identification to discriminate T. b. brucei and T. b. gambiense of domestic animal origin.

[Arsenical resistance and difluoromethylornithine in the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis]. / Arsénorésistance et difluorométhylornithine dans le traitement de la trypanosomiase humaine africaine.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in Zaïre is a medical problem of first importance, particularly in endemic areas where sleeping sickness threatens about 10 millions of human beings almost the third of the whole population. Used since about forty years as the main trypanocidal drug, melarsoprol is accompanied with a more and more important rate of failures (10%) during the last ten years. 86 patients from whom 51 were refractory with melarsoprol have been treated with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) since May 1984. Results which have been obtained seem to be encouraging because desperate cases are considered cured after 2 years of set-back. Side effects (disorders of intestinal function, anaemia, drug administration over a long period of time) may be considered as minor.

[Clinical neurological signs of human African trypanosomiasis at the meningoencephalitis stage (apropos of 23 cases)]. / Signes cliniques neurologiques de la trypanosomiase humaine africaine au stade méningo encéphalitique (à propos de 23 cas).

Twenty-three patients with trypanosomiasis in the meningo-encephalitic period have been examined neurologically. Main neurological symptoms are evocative of the affection and consist in frontal syndrome, often shown by a cheiro-chin reflex, the most frequent objective neurological sign, extrapyramidal injury, neuro-endocrine dysfunction, vestibular, cerebellar, pyramidal and meningitis syndromes. Cerebro-spinal alterations are not steadfast.