- an infectious disease, esp. common in tropical Africa, caused by either of two trypanosomes (Trypanosoma gambiense or T. rhodesiense) that are transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly: it is characterized by fever, drowsiness, and coma, usually ending in prolonged coma and death
- inflammation of the brain, caused by a virus and characterized by drowsiness and lethargy
sleeping sickness
sleeping sicknessWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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sleeping sickness
noun
- An often fatal, endemic infectious disease occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, caused by either of two trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei subsp. gambiense or T. brucei subsp. rhodesiense) transmitted by tsetse flies and characterized by fever, severe headache, and lymph node swelling in the early stages, followed by extreme weakness, sleepiness, and deep coma. Also called African sleeping sickness . Also called African trypanosomiasis .
- See encephalitis lethargica.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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- An often fatal protozoan infection prevalent in tropical Africa, caused by either of two trypanosomes spread by the bite of the tsetse fly and characterized by fever and extreme lethargy.
- Encephalitis that is caused by any of various viruses and is characterized by lethargy and extreme muscular weakness.
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Noun
(plural sleeping sicknesss)
- (pathology) An endemic infectious disease of humans and animals in tropical Africa, caused by a parasitic trypanosome, transmitted by the tsetse fly and characterized by fever, severe headache, joint pains and lymph node swelling in the early stages, followed by a neurological phase of extreme weakness, sleepiness, and deep coma leading to death.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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sleeping sickness - Medical Definition
n.
- An often fatal, endemic infectious disease occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, caused by either of two trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei subsp. gambiense or T. brucei subsp. rhodesiense) transmitted by tsetse flies and characterized by fever, severe headache, and lymph node swelling in the early stages, followed by extreme weakness, sleepiness, and deep coma. In this sense also called African sleeping sickness
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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