Landing Para-site

The bite of a blood-sucking tsetse fly often carries a deadly parasite. Trypanosoma brucei (pictured in blue) causes sleeping sickness in thousands of people worldwide – these ones are clinging to an adipocyte (fat cell) in a mouse’s ear. After arriving in their new host, the parasite invaders entangle themselves between skin layers, creating a sort of temporary base where they can reproduce before delving deeper into the body. Researchers found these areas of skin become warmer, perhaps guiding more tsetse flies in to land and bite at the same place. Previous research into sleeping sickness has focused on Trypanosoma brucei circulating in the bloodstream, potentially missing the importance of the skin in aiding infections. Looking for parasites hiding in the dermis may change screening and treatment programmes for sleeping sickness in years to come.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Guy Caljon and colleagues
• Unit of Veterinary Protozoology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Pathogens, July 2016