GENETIC PROCESSES WITHIN AN EPIDEMIC OF SLEEPING SICKNESS IN UGANDA

Reproductive processes within the current Ugandan epidemic of sleeping sickness are investigated. Genotype frequencies derived from isoenzym e patterns in 44 stocks of Trypanosoma brucei s.l. collected in 1988 f rom Tororo, south-east Uganda are analysed by single and multiple loci methods. In the single locus method, the hypothesis of random mating is tested by agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The multiple l oci method uses a contingency table approach to detect non-random asso ciations between pairs of loci; this equates to the detection of diseq uilibrium. The results do not support the concept of a randomly mating population of T. brucei within the current epidemic. Results from the epidemic data set are discussed in relation to the broader problem of genetic exchange in Trypanozoon.