How is sleeping sickness spread in West Africa?

How is sleeping sickness spread in West Africa?

How can I get West African trypanosomiasis? A person gets West African trypanosomiasis through the bite of an infected tsetse fly. Occasionally a pregnant woman may pass the infection to her baby. In theory, the infection can be transmitted through a blood transfusion, but such cases rarely have been documented.

How is sleeping sickness spread and what are the symptoms?

Sleeping sickness is caused by two types of parasites Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosomoa brucei gambiense. T b rhodesiense causes the more severe form of the illness. Tsetse flies carry the infection. When an infected fly bites you, the infection spreads through your bloodstream.

What is the most effective way to prevent African sleeping sickness?

Can African sleeping sickness be prevented?

1. Wear protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts and pants.
2. Wear khaki, olive, or other neutral-colored clothing.
3. Use bed nets when sleeping.
4. Look inside vehicles for tsetse flies before getting into them.

What is the name of the species responsible for spreading African sleeping sickness from other animals to humans?

Trypanosoma brucei
African Trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleeping sickness”, is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. It is transmitted by the tsetse fly (Glossina species), which is found only in sub-Saharan Africa.

What does African sleeping sickness do?

Fever, severe headaches, irritability, extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and aching muscles and joints are common symptoms of sleeping sickness. Some people develop a skin rash. Progressive confusion, personality changes, and other neurologic problems occur after infection has invaded the central nervous system.

How is T cruzi transmitted?

The insect vectors are called triatomine bugs. These blood-sucking bugs get infected with T. cruzi by biting an infected animal or person. Once infected, the bugs pass the parasites in their feces.

How long does a tsetse fly live?

two to three weeks
Male tsetse fly adults may live two to three weeks, while females can live for one to four months. Tsetse flies are larviparous—the larva hatches from an egg within the female—and the young develop singly within the female’s uterus, feeding on a nutrient fluid secreted by paired milk glands on her uterine wall.

What is the life cycle of African sleeping sickness?

African sleeping sickness has two life cycles: a stage in humans and a stage in tsetse flies. A human becomes infected when a tsetse fly takes a blood meal and injects metacyclic trypomastigotes (the parasites) into the skin, where they then go into the lymphatic system and finally pass into the blood stream.

What causes the African sleeping sickness?

Tsetse fly. African sleeping sickness also called African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease of humans and many other animals, African sleeping sickness is caused by an insect thus making it an insect borne illness which is caused by a tsetse fly carrying the African trypanosomiasis parasites.

How do you prevent African sleeping sickness?

African sleeping sickness is a disease caused by a parasite. It is passed on by the bite of the infected tsetse fly. The only risk factor is travel to parts of Africa where the tsetse fly is found. The only way to prevent the disease is to avoid insect bites.

What protist causes African sleeping sickness?

African trypanosomiasis. African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, is an insect-borne parasitic disease of humans and other animals. It is caused by protozoa of the species Trypanosoma brucei.