Therapeutic Strategies against Trypanosomiasis

Abstract

Trypanosoma evansi, an extracellular protozoan parasite, causes camel trypanosomiasis, also known as “surra”. The parasite, which can be found in camels, dromedaries, horses, and other Equidae family members, can cause 3% mortality and up to 30% morbidity. This chapter focuses on trypanosome-related infections, including their morphology, classification, clinical manifestations, immuno-suppressive effects, and herbal remedies and nanoparticles for their prevention and treatment. The disease is transmitted through biting of an infected insect, usually a tsetse fly. It causes fever, anemia, lymphadenopathy, and splenomegaly, with parasite suppressing the host’s immune system, making them more susceptible to other infections. Current therapies for trypanosomiasis face challenges such as drug resistance, toxicity, and limited availability of expensive drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to look for trypanosomiasis chemotherapeutic drugs that are cheaper, more effective, readily available, and lethal. Nanomedicine approaches have been explored for treating parasitic diseases, as they efficiently transport drug molecules and enhance the biological effects of sustained drug release from nanocarriers, nanoemulsions, and quantum dots. Nanomaterials have shown promising functions in detecting and treating protozoan diseases like trypanosomiasis. Many studies have been published on nanoparticles with different physical and chemical properties that have demonstrated promising functions in increasing the effectiveness of trypanosome drugs.