Sleeping sickness

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African trypanosomiasis

General symptoms include:

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

A physical examination may show signs of inflammation of the brain and its covering, the meninges (meningoencephalitis).

Tests include the following:

• Blood smear
• Cerebrospinal fluid tests
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Lymph node aspiration

Most antibody and antigen tests are not very helpful because they cannot tell the difference between current and past infection. Specific IgM levels in the cerebrospinal fluid may be helpful, however.

Review Date: 12/07/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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