Breakthrough could stop spread of killer disease.SCIENTISTS from Liverpool say they are closer to tackling a killer disease which affects tens of thousands of people a year. Researchers at Liverpool and Edinburgh universities have unravelled key information which could prevent sleeping sickness sleeping sickness: see encephalitis; trypanosomiasis. sleeping sickness Protozoal disease transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. Two forms, caused by different species of the genus Trypanosoma, occur in separate regions in Africa. , a disease spread by the tsetse fly tsetse fly (tsĕt`sē), name for any of several bloodsucking African flies of the genus Glossina, and in the same family as the housefly. in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate between 50,000 to 70,000 cases of the disease - caused by a parasite which attacks the central nervous system - and a further 60m at risk of infection. The new findings show how the parasite survives inside the gut of tsetse tsetse /tset·se/ (tset´se) an African fly of the genus Glossina, which transmits trypanosomiasis. tsetse an African fly of the genus glossina, which transmits trypanosomiasis. flies. Controlling the way proteins are made would allow scientists to kill the parasite and stop the disease spreading. Dr Pegine Walrad, of the University of Edinburgh's school of biological sciences, said: "Our findings provide a key to understanding how the parasite controls its protective protein coats in order to survive. "If we can learn more about how this happens, and how to stop it, we will be better equipped to target this devastating disease." Sleeping sickness affects people and livestock in 36 countries in the sub-Saharan region.. |
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