Clinical and serologic responses to human 'apathogenic' trypanosomes

We describe a female patient suffering from a benign self-heating febrile disease with strongly positive serology for Trypanosoma brucei., The patient showed a clinical picture with similarities to that of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). HAT due to T b. gambiense and T b. rhodesiense were ruled out. We performed serologic tests because the patient was worried about HAT after receiving tsetse trypanosomes such 'apathogenic' bites. The possibilities of an infection with human as T b. brucei, T congolense or T vivax are discussed. (c) 2005 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.