Trypanosoma vivax in Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis): A Host-Centered Synthesis of Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Integrated Control with Implications for Tropical Production Systems

<i>Trypanosoma vivax</i> is a hemoprotozoan parasite of major veterinary importance affecting domestic ungulates in Africa and the Americas. While traditionally addressed within cattle-centered paradigms, accumulating evidence indicates that water buffaloes (<i>Bubalus bubalis</i>) are both clinically susceptible and epidemiologically significant hosts. This structured narrative review provides a host-centered synthesis of global evidence on <i>T. vivax</i> infection in buffaloes, integrating pathogenesis, transmission biology, epidemiology, diagnostics, chemotherapy, and integrated control. The analysis encompasses literature from 2000 to 2025 and incorporates seminal experimental studies published prior to 2000 that established buffalo susceptibility and reservoir competence. Evidence from cyclical (tsetse-mediated) and mechanical transmission systems is comparatively interpreted to clarify host-parasite dynamics. The Amazon biome is discussed as a model system for high-density buffalo production under mechanical vector pressure, offering case-based contextualization without geographic restriction. Particular attention is given to immunopathological mechanisms, chronic low-parasitemia carriage, diagnostic sensitivity in subclinical infections, emerging trypanocide resistance, and ecological constraints on vector control. Controversies and buffalo-specific knowledge gaps are highlighted throughout. By adopting a buffalo-centered analytical framework, this review supports translational diagnostics, targeted surveillance, and sustainable control strategies for trypanosomiasis in tropical livestock systems.