Trypanosomiasis of domestic animals in China

Trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma evansi (surra) is a problem of great economic importance in livestock in China because it affects important working animals: buffaloes in the south and east, and horses and cattle in the north and west. In addition, buffaloes are an important source of meat and leather for the Chinese population. In the north and west, T. evansi is found mainly in camels, whereas in the east, the south and the southwest, it is primarily buffaloes, cattle and horses that are affected by this parasitic flagellate. Although trypanosomiasis is one of the most important parasitic diseases of domestic animals in China, little information on this disease has been published. In this article Zhao-Rong Lun, Yuang Fang, Chang-Ji Wang and Reto Brun evaluate trypanosomiasis of domestic animals in China and review epidemiological studies of the past 40 years.