A simple and rapid method to initiate Trypanosoma brucei brucei and T. brucei evansi bloodstream form cultures.

Initiation of cultures of bloodstream forms of trypanosomes from the Trypanozoon subgenus is an established laboratory procedure. The trypanosomes are usually separated from the blood cells of the donor animal by centrifugation on a density gradient (Hirumi et al., 1977) or by differential centrifugation (Hill et al., 1978; Brun et al., 1981; Zweygarth et al., 1982; Baltz et al., 1985). Isolation on an anion exchange column (Lanham and Godfrey, 1970) has been little used for this purpose. We describe a simple and rapid method for the initiation of trypanosome bloodstream form cultures from infected host blood, avoiding centrifugation and anion exchange column procedures. Two T.b. brucei stocks, CP 271 and CP 547, and two T.b. evansi stocks, CP 1134 and CP 2087, were used. Stock CP 271 was isolated in 1980 from a goat in Matuga/Kenya, stock CP 547 was isolated in 1985 from a naturally infected bovine in Jilib/Somalia. The two T.b. evansi stocks were both isolated from camels, stock CP 1134 in 1979 in Kulal/Kenya, stock CP 2087 in 1980 in the Sudan.