Codes for Killers: Knowledge of microbes could lead to cures
Scientists have deciphered the DNA of the parasites responsible for three deadly diseases: African sleeping sickness, Chagas’ disease, and leishmaniasis. This information could open new routes to preventing and treating these conditions, which collectively kill more than 1 million people worldwide each year.
The diseases are caused by related protozoa in a group known as trypanosomatids—single-celled organisms that are transmitted back and forth between at least two hosts, often a blood-eating insect and a person. African sleeping sickness, caused by Trypanosoma brucei, gradually brings on devastating neurological symptoms that affect the sleep cycle. Chagas’ disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, critically damages the heart, stomach, and brain. Leishmaniasis, caused by various species of Leishmania protozoa, can lethally enlarge the spleen and liver.