Genetics and trypanotolerance

Genetic resistance to disease and its use in domestic livestock usually ranks last, if at all, amongst preferred disease control measures - usually preceded by measures such as chemotherapy, vector control and vaccination. Thus, interest in genetic resistance is often a reflection of dissatisfaction with other control strategies, and the current emphasis on trypanotolerant cattle in Africa is just such a case. Eighty years of tsetse fly eradication programmes have had little impact on tsetse distribution, although recent research with odour baited targets impregnated with insecticide brings hope for the future. The search for a vaccine has proved more arduous than anticipated and the number of drugs available for therapy and prophylaxis is limited. In the search for alternative solutions to the problem of African trypanosomiasis, attention has recently focused on genetic resistance - a subject normally covered by immunologists or veterinarians(3-7). In this article, Rosemary Dolan discusses the concept from the geneticist's viewpoint.