Trypanosoma brucei: the mechanism of remission in murine infections. A calculator simulation

Abstract

A simulation (using an electronic calculator program) of the growth of Trypanosoma brucei in the mouse is presented. This suggests that remission of the infection is effected by the removal of ever increasing numbers of the organisms as the immune (antibody) response develops, rather than that a gradual build-up of antibody on each trypanosome occurs until a fatal concentration is reached, simultaneously, on all of them. The program has enabled a theoretical examination to be made of the effect, on the trypanosome growth curve, of altering the doubling time of the organism, the rate of development of the immune response, and the efficiency of the antibodies. Suggestions are made for further extensions of the program to cover other parameters that may vary during the infections. It should also be possible to use similar simple programs, that do not employ advanced mathematics, to problems of the growth of many organisms.