Acta tropica
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From January 1992 to December 1993, a total of 361 births and 243 deaths were recorded by village reporters in five villages in Muheza District, north eastern Tanzania. Among those aged less than one year 48 deaths were recorded, giving an infant mortality rate of 133 per 1000 live births (95% CI 97.9-168.0). ⋯ From analysis of these, 30 of the deaths were tentatively attributed to malaria. The results are discussed in relation to other studies in East and West Africa and to the prospects for reducing mortality by use of insecticide impregnated bednets.
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Chemotherapy for trypanosomiasis in domestic livestock depends on only a few compounds, of which several are chemically closely related. Of these compounds, the most widely used therapeutic agent in cattle, sheep and goats is diminazene aceturate. ⋯ In this review, we consider the current status of knowledge concerning the therapeutic spectrum of diminazene, resistance to diminazene in trypanosomes, and combination therapeutic regimens in which diminazene has been administered together with other compounds. Analytical techniques for diminazene, the pharmacokinetics of diminazene, data concerning diminazene's toxicity, and the different molecular mechanisms by which diminazene may exhibit trypanocidal action are also considered.
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Cultures of insect forms of Trypanosoma congolense stocks and clones with different susceptibilities to trypanocidal drugs in vivo were initiated from bloodstream trypomastigotes harvested from mammalian hosts and maintained axenically in vitro at 27 degrees C. Growth inhibition of procyclic forms of susceptible and drug-resistant T. congolense occurred after incubation for 48 h with 0.1 ng isometamidium chloride ml or 500 ng diminazene aceturate/ml. ⋯ Concentrations of 1 or 10 ng isometamidium chloride/ml had an irreversible effect when the trypanosomes were exposed to the drug for 24 h. Both drugs used in this study thus showed antitrypanosomal activity on T. congolense procyclic forms but it was not possible to distinguish between drug-resistant and susceptible stocks or clones employing the criteria of growth inhibition or death of trypanosomes in culture.