WEST AFRICAN SLEEPING SICKNESS

A chronic malady of humans caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in northern and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan and Uganda; characterised by splenomegaly, drowsiness, an uncontrollable urge to sleep, and the development of psychotic changes; basal ganglia and cerebellar involvement commonly lead to chorea and athetosis; the terminal phase of the malady is characterised by wasting, anorexia, and emaciation that gradually leads to coma and death, generally from intercurrent infection. Synonym: chronic African sleeping sickness, chronic trypanosomiasis, West African sleeping sickness, West African trypanosomiasis.