| Trypanosoma brucei | Trypanosoma cruzi | Leishmania major |
|---|
| Human disease | Sleeping sickness | Chagas disease | Leishmaniasis |
| Insect vector | Tsetse fly | Assassin bugs (many species) | Sand fly |
| Vaccine or effective cure | None | None | None |
| Strategy for survival | Changes surface recognition molecules frequently | Causes changes in surface recognition molecules on host cell | Reduces effectiveness of macrophage hosts |
| Site in human body | Bloodstream; in final stages, attacks nerve tissue | Enters cells, especially muscle cells | Enters cells, primarily macrophages |
| Approximate number of deaths per year | 7,000 | 11,000 | 63,000 |