Abstract
Trypanosoma melophagium Flu is a non-pathogenic parasite of sheep, and its intermediate host is the sheep ked2. The parasite is world-wide in its distribution and is found wherever there are keds1. Infection of sheep usually takes place via the oral mucosa following ingestion of infected keds2,4. If sheep are treated to destroy keds, it is several months before the flagellates disappear from the host's blood. I3 reported the death of large numbers of keds due to blockage of the midgut by masses of crithidia. Control over the trypanosome infection would be a useful tool for investigating this phenomenon further. The organism is not trans-ovarially transmitted in the ked2 and thus flagellate-free insects should be easy to obtain.
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NELSON, W. Experimental Elimination of Trypanosoma melophagiumFlu from its Hosts the Sheep and the Ked, Melophagus ovinus (L.). Nature 190, 739 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/190739a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/190739a0
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