RESUMEN
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT or sleeping sickness) is a life-threatening neglected tropical disease that is endemic in 36 sub-Saharan African countries. Until recently, treatment options were limited and hampered by unsatisfactory efficacy, toxicity, and long and cumbersome administration regimens, compounded by infrastructure inadequacies in the remote rural regions worst affected by the disease. Increased funding and awareness of HAT over the past two decades has led to a steady decline in reported cases (<1000 in 2018). Recent drug development strategies have resulted in development of the first all-oral treatment for HAT, fexinidazole. Fexinidazole received European Medicines Agency positive scientific opinion in 2018 and is now incorporated into the WHO interim guidelines as one of the first-line treatments for HAT, allowing lumbar puncture to become non-systematic. Here, we highlight the role of global collaborations in the effort to control HAT and develop new treatments. The long-standing collaboration between the WHO, Sanofi and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (Geneva, Switzerland) was instrumental for achieving the control and treatment development goals in HAT, whilst at the same time ensuring that efforts were led by national authorities and control programs to leave a legacy of highly trained healthcare workers and improved research and health infrastructure.
RESUMEN
Many species of the paleotropic plant genus Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) live in symbiosis with the ant genus Cremastogaster (Myrmicinae), especially with C. borneensis. The ants protect their plants from many herbivorous enemies. The plants provide food-bodies and nesting space in the internodes. In addition the ants care for honeydew producing scale insects in these spaces. The caterpillars of several species of the genus Arhopala (Lycaenidae) parasitize on this symbiosis system. With the aid of their myrmecophilic organs the caterpillars overcome the aggressivity of the ants and feed on the Macaranga leaves without disturbance. Moreover the caterpillars and their pupae are protected against parasites and predators by the ants. As the female butterflies oviposit the eggs only in low numbers upon young leaves, the plants are not seriously affected.The larvae of the three Arhopala species; A. amphimuta, A. moolaiana, and A. zylda are adapted to their host plant species Macaranga triloba, M. hulletti, and M. hypoleuca by means of color, shape, and behavior. In addition, the different larval stages change their appearance according to the parts of the plant on which they feed and rest. These cryptic adaptations point to a distinct monophagy of these butterflies.The state of phylogenetic relationship within the three lycaenids is parallel to the relationship among the three host plants.