Case 207. Trypanosoma gambiense in mouse blood (Giemsa)

　 　 　 　
　 African trypanosomiasis caused by T. gambiense or T. rhodesiense is known as "sleeping disease", resulting in lethal meningoencephalitis. The vector is tsetse fly (Glossina). It is dificult to identify protozoan parasites in tissue sections. 　
　 　 　 　

　

 　 The flagellated trypomastigotes of T. gambiense in the peripheral blood are larger than those of T. cruzi. Both the nucleus and kinetoplast (located at the rearest part of the body) are recognized.