What is a sleeping disease?
Sleeping disease, also called African trypanosomiasis, is the swelling of the brain caused by parasites that live in infected flies of TSETSE. When TSETSE infected parasites, it bites a human being, the parasite is handed over to a person's bloodstream. In addition, the infected mother can pass on the disease of the unborn child. Symptoms include insomnia, swollen lymph nodes, sweating and coma. Untreated African trypanosomiasis can result in death.
Two types of parasites can cause a sleeping disease. One of them is Trypanosoma Brucei Rhodiens or T. Brucei Rhodiens, resulting in a faster form of African trypanosomiasis. The second is Trypanosoma Brucei Gambiense or T. Brucei Gambiense.
African trypanosomiasis usually occurs in rural areas that have poor medical facilities. These areas can be close to the river, lakes or forests. Trypanosoma Brucei Gambiense, a parasite that is responsible for about 90 percent of all sleep of the diseaseThey also live in Tsetse flies in Western and Central Africa. T. Brucei Rhodiens infects TSETSE flies and finally people in East and South Africa.
When an infected Tsetse fly bites a person, bite can be painful and cause swelling. The parasite moves into the bloodstream and reproduces, leading to early symptoms such as sweating, fever and headaches. After attacking the bloodstream, the parasite moves to the central nervous system. When the infection proceeded to this phase, it is more difficult to cure a sleeping disease.
Sleeping disease caused by T. Brucei Gamense develops for a longer period of time than a sleeping disease caused by T. Brucei Rhodiens. Those who have been bitten by a fly infected by T. Brucei Gamense can take months or even years for symptoms. In fact, at a time when this type of sleeping disease is diagnosed, May infection has already moved to the central nervous system. Sleeping disease T. BruceiRhodiense develops faster and can affect the central nervous system in weeks.
The treatment of African trypanosomiasis depends on the phase in which the infection is diagnosed. Before the infection is expanded to the central nervous system, African trypanosomiasis caused by T. Brucei Gamense can be treated with injections of pentamidine and suramine to treat infections caused by T. Brucei Rhodiens. In later stages, the form of arsenic, melarsopro is used to treat both types of sleeping disease. Another medicine called efornithin, which has less severe side effects of melarsopro, can be used to treat African trypanosomiasis caused by trypanosome Brucei Gambiense when the disease is more advanced.