 |
| Fig. 33.9 A, A big game hunter
returning from Africa with oval secondary
lesion of African trypanosomiasis. B, Peripheral
smear from the patient demonstrating
a circulating trypanosome.
(Courtesy of the Fitzsimons Army
Medical Center teaching files.) |
African trypanosomiasis, also called sleeping sickness, is due to
Trypanosoma gambiense or T. rhodesiense. It may
present with a trypanosomal chancre (primary cutaneous African trypanosomiasis) at the site of the bite, followed by
nodules and dermatitis (secondary cutaneous African trypanosomiasis) (Fig. 33-9). The cardiac and neurologic
complications of both forms of trypanosomiasis are the most serious clinical concerns.
McGovern TW, Williams W, Fitzpatrick JE, et al: Cutaneous manifestations of African trypanosomiasis,
Arch Dermatol 131:1178–1182,
1995.
