Encephalitis lethargica.
An African disease, spread by the tsetse fly, where trypanosomes infest the blood.
An illness that is caused by parasitic protozoa that are carried by tsetse flies. Symptoms of sleeping sickness include high fever and swollen glands. After a latency period of 4 to 6 months, the illness causes extreme sleepiness and inflammation of the brain, the membrane covering the brain (called the meninges], and the spinal cord. The disease is common in tropical Africa.
A disease of tropical Africa caused by the presence in the blood of the parasitic protozoans Trypanosoma gambiense or T. rhodesiense. The parasites are transmitted to man through the bite of tsetse flies. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, and chills, followed later by enlargement of the lymph nodes, anemia, and pains in the limbs and joints. After a period of several months or even years, the parasites invade, the minute blood vessels supplying the central nervous system. This causes drowsiness and lethargy and ultimately, if untreated, the patient dies. Rhodesian sleeping sickness is the more virulent form of the disease. The drugs suramin and pentamidine are used to treat the early curable stages of sleeping sickness: drugs containing arsenic are administered after the brain is affected. Eradication of tsetse flies helps prevent spread of the infection.
There are two major forms of the disease: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is confined to West and Central Africa, and Tb. rhodesiense to Central, East, and South-East Africa. The infection is caused by the bite of tsetse fly (Glossina spp.). Onset of disease is accompanied by fever, progressive ANAEMIA, and enlarged glands, followed by increasing lethargy, slowing of mentality, and physical weakness. These give way to headache and an increasing tendency to sleep. These symptoms are caused by proliferation of parasites in the patient’s cerebral blood vessels, and are accompanied by inflammatory changes and disorganization of nervous tissue.
A severe infectious illness prevalent in tropical Africa is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Humans contract this disease through the bite of a tsetse fly.
A variant of the illness found in West and Central Africa progresses slowly, marked by episodes of fever and swelling of lymph nodes. Over the course of months or even years, the illness extends to the brain, resulting in symptoms like headaches, disorientation, and eventually, profound fatigue. In the absence of medical intervention, this progression leads to unconsciousness and eventual death. On the other hand, the variation present in East Africa follows a more rapid trajectory. Fever emerges a few weeks after infection, and the heart might experience severe consequences before the illness reaches the brain.
Medications have the potential to bring about a remedy, although there’s a possibility of lingering brain impairment if the infection has already advanced to the brain. Individuals residing in regions with a high presence of the disease-carrying flies should consider wearing clothing that covers their body fully, secured at the wrists and ankles. This precautionary measure aids in reducing the likelihood of being bitten by tsetse flies.
A condition characterized by growing drowsiness. It has various types and is also known as African lethargy, encephalitis lethargica, or trypanosomiasis.