American sleeping sickness

The transmission of Tryp. cruzi is caused by reduviid bugs, which excrete infectious trypanosomes in their faeces. These enter the body through small skin or mucosal lesions. They cause the South American sleeping sickness , also called Chagas disease (C. Chagas, 1908). In the liver only portal round-cell infiltrates are found. 

African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) are caused by Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi, respectively. Sleeping sickness results from being bitten by the insect vector, the tsetse fly. At first there is only local lymphadenitis but about a month later generalized malaise, fever, and systemic disease involving skeletal muscle is seen. 

Trypanosomal diseases include Kala-Azar or visceral leshmaniasis, which is a severe form of leshmaniasis, Afiican sleeping sickness (Afiican trypanosomiasis), which is experiencing resurgence, and Chaga s diseases (American trypanosomiasis), the current drugs for which are severely toxic, even though the disease does not kill as such. 

---