Sleeping sickness (disambiguation): Difference between revisions
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* [[African trypanosomiasis]] |
* [[African trypanosomiasis]] |
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* [[Encephalitis lethargica]] |
* [[Encephalitis lethargica]] |
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Human African trypanosomiasis, also called sleeping sickness, is caused by trypanosomes of the Trypanosoma brucei species. This disease is invariably fatal unless treated but can almost always be cured with current medicines, if the disease is diagnosed early enough. |
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Sleeping sickness begins with a tsetse bite leading to an inoculation in the sub-cutaneous tissue. The infection moves into the lymphatic system leading to a characteristic swelling of the lymph glands which is called Winterbottoms's sign[1]. The infection progresses into the blood stream and eventually crosses into the central nervous system and invades the brain leading to extreme lethargy and eventually to death. |
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The Trypanosoma brucei species, which causes the disease, has often been subdivided into three sub-genera which were identified based either on the vertebrate hosts which the strain could infect or on the virulence of the disease in humans. The trypanosomes infectious to animals and not to humans were named Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The strains which infected humans were divided into two sub-species based on their different virulences: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense was thought to have a slower onset and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense refers to strains with a more rapid, virulent onset. This characterization has always been problematic but was the best that could be done given the knowledge of the time and the tools available for identification. A recent molecular study using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis suggests that the three sub-genera are polyphyletic [8], so the elucidation of the strains of T. brucei infective to humans will require a more complex explanation. |
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Other forms of human trypanosomiasis also exist but are not transmitted by tsetse. The most notable is American trypanosomiasis, known as Chagas disease, which occurs in South America, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, and transmitted by certain species of the Reduviidae, members of the Hemiptera. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 12:02, 23 February 2009
Sleeping sickness may refer to any one of several medical conditions associated with lethargy.[1]
Examples include:
Human African trypanosomiasis, also called sleeping sickness, is caused by trypanosomes of the Trypanosoma brucei species. This disease is invariably fatal unless treated but can almost always be cured with current medicines, if the disease is diagnosed early enough.
Sleeping sickness begins with a tsetse bite leading to an inoculation in the sub-cutaneous tissue. The infection moves into the lymphatic system leading to a characteristic swelling of the lymph glands which is called Winterbottoms's sign[1]. The infection progresses into the blood stream and eventually crosses into the central nervous system and invades the brain leading to extreme lethargy and eventually to death.
The Trypanosoma brucei species, which causes the disease, has often been subdivided into three sub-genera which were identified based either on the vertebrate hosts which the strain could infect or on the virulence of the disease in humans. The trypanosomes infectious to animals and not to humans were named Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The strains which infected humans were divided into two sub-species based on their different virulences: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense was thought to have a slower onset and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense refers to strains with a more rapid, virulent onset. This characterization has always been problematic but was the best that could be done given the knowledge of the time and the tools available for identification. A recent molecular study using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis suggests that the three sub-genera are polyphyletic [8], so the elucidation of the strains of T. brucei infective to humans will require a more complex explanation.
Other forms of human trypanosomiasis also exist but are not transmitted by tsetse. The most notable is American trypanosomiasis, known as Chagas disease, which occurs in South America, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, and transmitted by certain species of the Reduviidae, members of the Hemiptera.
References
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