Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is an infectious disease transmitted by the Tsetse fly. It affects more than 60 million people living in northern and central Africa. During a bite, several thousand trypanosomes enter the human body through the saliva of a carrier. For some time, the disease can proceed unnoticed in the human body, and when it manifests itself, it is already characterized by formidable symptoms and a late stage. At this moment, a person develops confusion, impaired coordination, loss of sensitivity, all these symptoms are due to parasitic invasion of the brain and damage to the central nervous system. If this disease is not treated, it can be fatal.
Sleeping sickness. The mechanism of infection.
The Tsetse fly (carrier) during suction introduces trypanosomes into the subcutaneous space. At the same time, a small number of parasites enter the bloodstream, but their bulk is localized in the place where the bite was made. There they actively reproduce, and after some time a painful nodular formation, chancre, forms at the site of the bite. Subsequently, parasites spread throughout the body through the lymphatic system and interstitial space. Sleeping sickness is constantly mutated, since the very first parasites die under the influence of antibodies in the body. The remaining trypanosomes are actively fighting for existence, and as a result, a new antigenic type of infection appears. As a result, from one strain several hundred variants of parasites are formed at once, it is not surprising that a person is completely defenseless against this disease.
African sleeping sickness. Symptoms of the disease.
Some time after the bite of an infected Tsetse fly, a person develops signs of fever and a reddish rash on the skin. The fever progresses, but can fade away for a while, then the patient becomes a little easier. Weakness and anemia increase, lymph nodes and ascites increase, the human brain is affected and it becomes lethargic, drowsy and lethargic. Severe headaches with convulsions may appear, a person always strives to sleep. After this condition comes coma and death. The following symptoms are most characteristic of African sleeping sickness:
- Availability of input chancre.
- Severe headaches.
- Insomnia.
- Fever.
- Impaired attention span.
- Enlarged lymph nodes in the posterior cervical triangle.
- Developing tachycardia.
- Subcutaneous edema.
- Ring-shaped erythema occurs mainly in Europeans.
The first symptoms of the disease appear several years before brain damage, and therefore, timely treatment to a doctor during this period can save a person’s life.
African trypanosomiasis treatment
To effectively cure this disease, scientists have developed an effective combination therapy, which is included in the "List of Essential Medicines" and is provided to patients completely free of charge. In general, African sleeping sickness in the early stages of the disease is perfectly cured with eflornithine and suramin. Later processes, when the brain is affected, require the use of mercury-containing drugs. They are used with great care, since these drugs are toxic and can cause unwanted reactions in the body.
Prevention of sleeping sickness is simple, it consists in fulfilling a number of rules that are aimed at reducing the risks of contracting this disease.
- Without an acute need not to visit the foci of the disease.
- Wear light-colored clothing with long sleeves.
- When going out, use insect repellents.
- To prevent the disease, do an injection of pentamidine once every six months.
Sleeping sickness is a serious illness, so it is easier to prevent than to treat.