Sleeping sickness Dreadly disease

2. Definition
Sleeping sickness is
an infection caused
by germs carried
by certain flies. It
results in swelling
of the brain.

3. Causativeagent
 It is caused
by protozoa Trypanos
oma brucei.
 T.b.g causes over
98% of reported cases.
transmitted by the
bite of an
infected tsetse fly.
Trypanosoma brucei
gambiense(T.b.g)
Trypanosoma brucei
rhodesiense (T.b.r.).

4. LifeCycle

5. Vector
 Mother-to-child infection the
trypanosome can sometimes cross the
placenta and infect the fetus.
 Laboratories accidental infections, for
example, through the handling of blood
of an infected person and organ
transplantation, although this is
uncommon.
 Blood transfusion.

6. Signs andSymptoms
 Anxiety
 Mood changes
 Fever
 Headache
 Weakness
 Insomnia at night
 Sleepiness during the day (may be uncontrollable)
 Sweating
 Swollen lymph nodes all over the body
 Swollen, red, painful nodule at site of the fly bite

7. Examination andTest
Tests include the
following:
 Blood smear
 Cerebrospinal fluid
tests (fluid from your
spinal cord)
 Complete blood
count (CBC)
 Lymph
node aspiration
Blood smear

8. Treatment
 Medicines used to treat this disorder include:
 Eflornithine (for T. b. gambiense only)
 Melarsoprol
 Pentamidine (for T. b. gambiense only)
 Suramin.
Some people may receive a combination of
these medicines.

9. Outlook
 Without treatment, death can occur
within 6 months from cardiac
failure or from T. b.
rhodesiense infection itself.
 T. b. gambiense infection causes
sleeping sickness disease and gets
worse quickly, often over a few
weeks.

10. Possiblecomplications
 Injury related to falling asleep while
driving or during other activities
 Gradual damage to the nervous
system
 Uncontrollable sleep as the disease
gets worse
 Coma

11. Prevention
 Pentamidine injections protect
against T. b. gambiense, but not
against T. b. rhodesiense.
 Insect control measures can help
prevent the spread.

12. Spreading
in the last 10 years, over
70% of reported cases
occurred in the
Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC).
threatens millions of people in
36 countries in sub-Saharan
Africa. Many of the affected
populations live in remote
rural areas with limited access
to adequate health services