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The first 20% of the full text of this section appears below.

Section 3. Summaries of Infectious Diseases

African Trypanosomiasis

(African Sleeping Sickness)

Clinical Manifestations
Etiology
Epidemiology
Diagnostic Tests
Treatment
Isolation of the Hospitalized Patient
Control Measures

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CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS

The rapidity and severity of clinical manifestations vary with the infecting subspecies. With Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (West African) infection, a cutaneous nodule or chancre may appear at the site of parasite inoculation within a few days of a bite by an infected tsetse fly. Systemic illness is chronic, occurring months to years later, and is characterized by intermittent fever, posterior cervical lymphadenopathy (Winterbottom sign), and multiple nonspecific complaints, including malaise, weight loss, arthralgia, rash, pruritus, and edema. If the central nervous system (CNS) is involved, chronic meningoencephalitis with behavioral changes, cachexia, headache, hallucinations, delusions, and somnolence can occur. In contrast, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (East African) infection is an acute, generalized illness . . . [Go to Full Text]


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