Sleeping sickness
Alternate Names : African trypanosomiasis
Symptoms & Signs
Gambienseinfections lead to drowsiness during the day, but insomnia at night. Sleep becomes uncontrollable as the disease gets worse, and eventually leads to coma. General symptoms include:
Diagnosis & Tests
A physical examination may show signs of meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and its covering, the meninges). Tests include the following: - Albumin levels
- Blood smear
- Cerebrospinal fluid tests
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Globulin levels
- Lymph node aspiration
Most antibody and antigen test are not very helpful because they can't distinguish between current and previous infection. Specific IgM levels in the cerebrospinal fluid may be helpful, however.
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