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- Type 1
Scientists have taken a tentative step towards creating a cure for the most common form of sleeping sickness.
The gambiense strain of the trypanosoma parasite is resistant to proteins the immune system produces to fight the infection.
Belgian researchers have developed a mutant version of the protein, which early tests show can kill a wide range of trypanosomes including gambiense.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
The gambiense strain causes more than 97% of sleeping sickness cases in western and central Africa. According to the World Health Organization, there were 7,197 cases in 2012.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23755038
The gambiense strain of the trypanosoma parasite is resistant to proteins the immune system produces to fight the infection.
Belgian researchers have developed a mutant version of the protein, which early tests show can kill a wide range of trypanosomes including gambiense.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
The gambiense strain causes more than 97% of sleeping sickness cases in western and central Africa. According to the World Health Organization, there were 7,197 cases in 2012.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23755038