Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease in humans. Caused by protozoa of genus Trypanosoma and transmitted by the tsetse fly, the disease is endemic in certain regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, covering about 36 countries and 60 million people. It is estimated that 300,000 - 500,000 people are infected, and about 40,000 die every year. Three major epidemics have occurred in the past hundred years, in 1896 - 1906, 1920, and 1970. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... Protozoa (in Greek protos = first and zoon = animal) are single-celled creatures with nuclei that show some characteristics usually associated with animals, most notably mobility and heterotrophy. ... Genera Blastocrithidia Crithidia Endotrypanum Herpetomonas Leishmania Leptomonas Phytomonas Trypanosoma Wallaceina The trypanosomes are a group of kinetoplastids that only have a single emergent flagellum. ... Binomial name Glossina morsitans The tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans, is a fly (order Diptera) that eats blood from animals, including humans. ... Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara Desert, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not part of North Africa. ... An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. ...

Symptoms begin with fever, headaches, and joint pains. If untreated, the disease slowly overcomes the defenses of the infected person, and symptoms spread to anaemia, endocrine problems, and cardiovascular and kidney disorders. The disease then enters a neurological phase when the parasite passes through the blood-brain barrier. The symptoms of the second phase is what gives the disease its name: besides confusion and reduced coordination, the sleep cycle is disturbed with bouts of fatigue punctuated with manic periods progressing to daytime slumber and nighttime insomnia. Without treatment, the disease is fatal, with progressive mental deterioration leading to coma and death. Damage caused in the neurological phase can be irreversible. Fever is also the name of an album by Kylie Minogue. ... A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ... Endocrinology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the endocrine system and its specific secretions called hormones. ... Cardiology is the branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the heart and blood vessels. ... Kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. ... The blood-brain barrier is a physical barrier between the blood vessels in the central nervous system, and the central nervous system itself. ... Confusion can have the following meanings: Unclarity, e. ... The Circadian rhythm is a name given to the internal body clock that regulates the (roughly) 24 hour cycle of biological processes in animals and plants. ... In Wikipedia, fatigue can mean: Fatigue (physical) - tiredness in humans Fatigue (material) - failure by repeated stress in materials Fatigues (uniform) - military uniform Battle fatigue - also known as Post-traumatic stress disorder Readers fatigue Voter fatigue This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... For the novel by Stephen King, see Insomnia (novel); for the Norwegian movie and its American remake, see Insomnia (movie). ...

The disease is found in two forms, depending on the parasite, either Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. T. b. gambiense is found in central and western Africa; it causes a chronic condition that can extend in a passive phase for months or years before symptoms emerge. T. b. rhodesiense is found in southern and eastern Africa; its infection emerges in a few weeks and is more virulent and faster developing. Medicine In medicine, a persistent and lasting condition is said to be chronic (from Greek chronos). ...

The primary condition is treated with either suramin (T. b. rhodesiense/gambiense) or pentamidine (T. b. gambiense). Advanced cases can be treated with melarsoprol or eflornithine. All these drugs, especially melarsoprol, have many undesirable side-effects, and the treatment regimen is often difficult to enforce. Suramin or Suramin sodium is a medicinal drug developed by Oskar Dressel in 1916. ... Pentamidine isethionate is a drug primarily given for prevention and treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), a type of pneumonia often seen in people with HIV infection. ... Melarsoprol (2-[4-{(4,6-Diamino-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino}phenyl]-1,3,2-dithiarsolan-e-4-methanol) is a medicinal drug used in the treatment of African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness. ... Eflornithine is a drug developed by Aventis, which has various uses. ... A side-effect is any effect other than an intended primary effect. ...

The condition has been present in Africa from at least the 14th century. The causative agent and the vector were not identified until 1902 - 1903, and the differentiation between protozoa was not made until 1910. An arsenic based drug, atoxyl, was the first effective drug, developed by Paul Ehrlich and Kiyoshi Shiga in 1906. After patients became blind due to incorrect dosages of atoxyl, the organo-arsenical melarsoprol (Arsobal) was developed in the 1940s. It was effective, but 3 - 10% of those injected had reactive encephalopathy (convulsions, progressive coma, or psychotic reactions), and 10 - 70% died; it could cause brain damage in those that survived the encephalopathy. Treatment of the primary condition began in the 1920s with suramin. Eflornithine (difluoromethylornithine or DFMO), the most modern treatment, was developed in the 1970s by Albert Sjoerdsmanot and underwent clinical trials in the 1980s. The drug was approved by the FDA in 1990, but Aventis, the company responsible for its manufacture, halted production in 1999. Patients with sleeping sickness are currently treated with melarsoprol. General Name, Symbol, Number arsenic, As, 33 Series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15 (VA), 4, p Density, Hardness 5727 kg/m3, 3. ... For the American butterfly and overpopulation specialist, see Paul R. Ehrlich. ... Kiyoshi Shiga(志賀潔, February 7, 1871 - January 25, 1951) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. ... Encephalopathy is a container term for various conditions affecting the brain. ... Brain damage or brain injury is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. ... The United States Food and Drug Administration is the government agency responsible for regulating food, dietary supplements, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, biologics and blood products in the United States. ... Aventis was formed in 1999 when Rhône-Poulenc S.A. merged with Hoechst AG. The merged company was based in France. ... Melarsoprol (2-[4-{(4,6-Diamino-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino}phenyl]-1,3,2-dithiarsolan-e-4-methanol) is a medicinal drug used in the treatment of African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness. ...

Instances of Sleeping sickness are being reduced by the use of the Sterile Atomic Fly. The Sterile Atomic Fly, one kind of sterile insect technique, is an innovative solution to the problem of Sleeping sickness, and is being developed by the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. ...

See also:

• Sleep disorder
• David Bruce