September 23, 2016
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
Sleeping sickness: parasites found hiding in the skin
Scientists from the Trypanosome Cell Biology Unit (Institut Pasteur/Inserm), working in collaboration with scientists from the University of Glasgow, have demonstrated the presence of a large quantity of trypanosomes - parasites responsible for sleeping sickness - in the skin of individuals with no symptoms. This discovery should refocus the screening strategy for this disease, which previously looked for parasites in the bloodstream, and raises the possibility of eliminating the disease in West Africa. The scientists' results were published in e-Life on September 22, 2016.