Sleeping Sickness (Type 1) (African Trypanosomiasis, gambiense type)
什麼是Sleeping Sickness (Type 1) (African Trypanosomiasis, gambiense type)
Human African trypanosomiasis, also known as African sleeping sickness, is a parasitic disease acquired through the bite of an infected tsetse fly. These specific parasites belong to the Trypanosoma genus.
There are two forms of human African trypanosomiasis, depending on the parasite involved:
- Trypanosoma brucei gambiense: This parasite is found in west and central Africa and is responsible for over 90 percent of reported cases of sleeping sickness. It causes a chronic infection where major symptoms may not emerge for months or even years. When symptoms do emerge, the patient is often already in an advanced disease stage.
- Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense: This parasite is found in eastern and southern Africa and causes an acute infection. Symptoms are usually seen after only a few months or weeks and develop rapidly after the parasite invades the central nervous system.
Another form of trypanosomiasis is known as American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, and occurs in many Central and South American countries. The parasite involved is a different species from those causing the African form of the disease.
您如何獲得Sleeping Sickness (Type 1) (African Trypanosomiasis, gambiense type)？
African trypanosomiasis is acquired though the bite of the tsetse flies found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Only certain species of tsetse flies can transmit the disease after they have acquired the infection from humans or animals harbouring the human disease parasites. People living in rural areas are often the most exposed to the bite of the tsetse fly and those most at risk are usually farmers, hunters, and fishermen. Tsetse flies are mainly found in vegetation by rivers and lakes, in gallery-forests, and in vast stretches of wooded savannah. Different species of tsetse flies live in different habitats, but not all tsetse flies are infected with the parasites. Thus, many areas may have tsetse flies, but sleeping sickness may not generally occur in these areas.”
易感性和抵抗力
Everyone is susceptible to African sleeping sickness.
有哪些症狀？
Bouts of fever, headaches, joint pains, and itching are characteristic symptoms of the initial stage of African sleeping sickness. Painful inflammation can also occur at the site of the tsetse fly bite. In the second stage, the parasite invades the central nervous system causing confusion, sensory disturbances, poor coordination, and disturbances of the sleep cycle which give the disease its common name. Without appropriate treatment, African sleeping sickness is fatal.
預防措施
目前沒有疫苗可預防昏睡病。采采蠅沒有受到驅蟲劑的影響，並且可以穿輕便的衣服。采采蠅蠅大量侵染的非洲地區往往是零星分佈的，通常是當地居民所熟知的。避開此類區域是預防昏睡病的最佳方法。采采蠅（Tsetse）的蒼蠅被運動和深色，對比鮮明的色彩所吸引。前往采采蠅蠅地區的旅客應穿戴腕部和腳踝長的服裝，該服裝由中等重量的中性織物製成，並與背景環境融為一體。
治療
Travellers who sustain tsetse fly bites and become ill with high fever or other symptoms of African sleeping sickness should seek medical attention immediately. The infection can usually be cured by an appropriate course of anti-trypanosomal therapy.
The type of treatment needed depends on the stage of the disease. The earlier the identification of the disease, the better the prospect of a cure. Drugs used in the first stage are less toxic, easier to administer, and more effective than drugs needed in the second stage.
驗證
通常在哪裡發生？
This parasite is found only in rural west and central Africa.
