infections
African Sleeping Sickness
Introduction
Human African sleeping sickness is an infection caused by the protozoaTrypanosoma brucei gambienseorTrypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. It is transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly. Sleeping sickness occurs only in equatorial Africa. A painful bump or sore may form at the site of the fly's bite, followed by fevers, chills, headache, swollen lymph nodes, sometimes a rash, and eventually drowsiness, problems with walking, and, if untreated, coma and death. Doctors usually confirm the diagnosis by identifying the protozoa (single-cell infectious organisms) in a sample of blood, fluid taken from a lymph node, or cerebrospinal fluid. All infected people should be treated with one of several medications effective againstTrypanosoma. (See also Overview of Parasitic Infections .) Sleeping sickness occurs only in parts of equatorial Africa where tsetse flies live. There are two forms of sleeping sickness. Each is caused by a different species ofTrypanosoma. One form (caused byTrypanosoma brucei gambiense) occurs in West and Central Africa. The other form (caused byTrypanosoma brucei rhodesiense) occurs in East Africa. Both occur in Uganda. The World Health Organization (WHO) is trying to eradicate African trypanosomiasis, and, as a result of control efforts, there has been a dramatic decrease in cases of this infection over the past 20 years (> 95%, with approximately 800 cases in 2021). On average one case is diagnosed in the United States each year, always in travelers or immigrants from endemic regions (areas of the world where the disease is common). , is endemic in South and Central America and causes Chagas Disease (American trypanosomiasis). 