· By: Marianna Vélez and Daniel Ulman.

Content

• Causes

• Symptoms

• Transmittion

• Treatment

• Complications

• Prevention

Causes• The sleeping sickness is a bacterian

infection transmitted by certain flies and causing swelling of the brain.

• The illness is caused by two protozoos: Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense

Symptoms• Anxiety• Daytime drowsiness• Fever• Headache• Insomnia at night• Changes in mood• Drowsiness (may be uncontrollable)• Sweating• Swollen lymph nodes throughout the body• Node swollen, red and painful at the site of the

bite of the fly• Weakness

Transmission

• The sleeping sickness can be transmitted by the tsé-tsé fly, and also if you go to a country where the illness is very common without vaccinate first.

Treatment and expectationsThe only treatment for this disease are drugs.

• Eflornithine (for T. gambiense only)• Melarsoprol• Pentamidine• Suramin (Antrypol)• Some patients may receive polytherapy

Without treatment, death can occur within six months from heart failure or infection by T. rhodesiense. T.gambiense infection causes the classic "sleeping sickness" and worse more quickly, often for a few weeks. Both conditions must be treated inmediatly.

Complications

• Complications include injury related to falling asleep while driving or performing other activities and progressive damage to the nervous system. Sleep becomes uncontrollable as the disease gets worse and eventually leads to coma.

• There may be inflammation of the heart (myocarditis).

Prevention

• Vaccinate (only the T.gambiense, the other doesn’t have vaccine). The problem is that the vaccine is toxic and its better taking only if you go to infected country.

• To Control the flies to prevent the propagation of the illness.