468 Parasitology Today, vol. 15, no. 11, 1999

overlap between chapters. The problem issolved in this volume by consistent referencesto complementary sections in other chapters,enabling easy access to the subjects.

Is this book useful for the parasitologist?Although emphasis was placed on thedescription of methods in models ofbacterial infections, the bias is counteractedby the chapter on experimentalleishmaniasis, which focuses on methodsthat are specific for the parasite system, and

the protocols for the generation of T-cellclones from mice immunized withPlasmodium. Anyway, it should berecognized that there are many similaritiesbetween the immune responses to bacteriaand parasites. It is thus evident that thetechnologies described are of generalapplicability, and lessons learned from onemicroorganism are relevant for others.

This is a comprehensive, well-writtenand adequately referenced manual that

contains a good number of useful figuresand tables. It provides a very valuable guidefor those scientists wishing to useimmunological methods to investigatehost–pathogen relationships.

Heidrun MollResearch Center for Infectious DiseasesUniversity of WürzburgRöntgenring 1197070 Würzburg, Germany

Book Reviews

In the 170 years or so since the first formaldescription of a tsetse fly, there has beenan enormous number of publicationsconcerned with the insect itself and withthe impact that it has on the African ruralscene. This intense scientific interest canbe attributed to two factors: (1) theintriguing and virtually unique reproductivebiology of tsetse flies and their consequentlow potential for increase compared toalmost all other insects; and (2) (and inter-related) their role as vectors of human andanimal trypanosomosis, diseases whichhave had, and still have, profoundinfluences on rural people and economiesin tropical Africa. Over the years, therehas been a succession of single-authorbooks, which have attempted tosynthesize and interpret this extensiveliterature; some have concentrated onreviewing the literature and theproduction of a work of reference,whereas others have been more selectivein their sources and have attempted apersonal assessment of aspects of thetsetse fly/trypanosomosis problem.

Stephen Leak’s book reviews theliterature and is a worthy successor to P.A.Buxton’s The Natural History of Tsetse Flies,published in 1955. The more recent (1970)The African Trypanosomiases, edited byH.W. Mulligan, is also a valuable sourcebook but, because of its multi-authorship, issomewhat patchy in its coverage. Thescope of Leak’s book and the extent of theinformation explosion during the past 40years is indicated by the fact that, whereasBuxton quoted some 630 references insome 740 pages of text, Leak quotes morethan 2000 in some 430 pages of text. Mostof the references are post-Buxton, butsufficient earlier ones are included to putthe more recent findings into context.Readers will appreciate that the referencesinclude reports and other less readilyavailable publications.

The book is divided into four sectionsdealing with (1) tsetse biology and ecology,(2) the epidemiology of thetrypanosomiases, and (3) vector control.The short final section (4) puts the threemain sections of the book into context,correctly pointing out that control oftrypanosomosis is, in most affectedcountries, by control of the disease usingcurative and prophylactic trypanocidaldrugs. It is ironic that, despite the mass ofinformation about the vector and thediseases, control is still based on drugs thathave been around for at least 40 years andwhich are generally administered, in thecase of trypanosomosis of domesticanimals, by the owners of livestockthemselves, with no formal diagnosis andlimited attention to recommended drugregimens. As Leak points out, it is generallynot too difficult to control tsetse flies(mainly because of their low potential rateof increase) and this is theoretically a moreeffective option than the use of drugs towhich varying degrees of resistance occurs.The difficulty lies in sustaining control at anacceptable cost – whatever ancient ormodern technique is employed.

Within the defined structure of the book,coverage is deliberately selective. Topics thatare adequately reviewed in earlier books arenot dealt with in detail, allowing particularattention to be given to subject areas inwhich there have been significantdevelopments in recent years. These include:(1) an understanding of those factors thataffect the composition of samples of tsetsepopulations (including the related topic ofbehavioural ecology); (2) tsetse populationdynamics; (3) the use of moleculartechniques for identifying trypanosomes andfor detecting infections in tsetse; (4) thenature of the inter-relationships betweentsetse and trypanosomes; (5) the modellingof trypanosomosis transmission; and (6) theuse of traps and targets (including theidentification and exploitation of host odoursthat are attractive to tsetse) and pour-oninsecticides as vector control techniques.

All those interested in tsetse and trypanosomosis will welcome this compre-hensive and readable guide through themore recent literature. It might evenremind those responsible for rural develop-ment in Africa that we have an in-depthknowledge of trypanosomosis and, givenpolitical stability, sound organization andadequate funding, these diseases could becontrolled much more effectively than isgenerally the case today.

Anthony JordanHolly HousePlud StreetWedmoreSomerset, UK BS28 4BE

Tsetse Biology and Ecology: Their Role in the Epidemiology and Control

of Trypanosomosisby S.G.A. Leak, CABI Publishing, 1998. £65.00 / $120.00 (hbk)

(592 pages) ISBN 0 85199 300 1

Articles of interest in other Trends journals• Unravelling the kinetoplastid paraflagellar rod, by J.A. Maga and J.H. LeBowitz

(1999) Trends in Cell Biology 9, 409–413

• Mitogenomics: digging deeper with complete mitochondrial genomes, by J.P. Curole and T.D. Kocher (1999) Trends in Ecology & Evolution 14, 394–398

• Focus on drug resistance, by K.M. Land (1999) Trends in Microbiology 7, 344–345

• Listening to the silent genes: transgene silencing, gene regulation and pathogen control, by J.M. Kooter, M.A. Matzke and P. Meyer (1999) Trends in Plant Science 4, 340–347