The responsible behind sleeping sickness

Dive into the heart of the trypanosome, the parasite responsible for sleeping sickness!

Transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly, this disease affects over 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. After infection, the first symptoms appear: fevers, anemia... But when the parasite invades the nervous system, it disrupts the sleep cycle, hence its name.

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Philippe Bastin (Institut Pasteur) was able to capture thousands of images to reconstitute the parasite in 3D. This is essential for understanding how it defends itself and multiplies. These discoveries pave the way for new strategies to block its proliferation and better control the disease.

These images were taken by Adeline Mallet and Manuel Majrouh at the Institut Pasteur's Ultrastructural Bio-Imaging Platform.

(video in french, English subtitles available)