African Sleeping Sickness Research Paper
African Sleeping Sickness is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. The parasite is a eukaryote, as it has a fully functioning mitochondria and other membrane-bound organelles. An infection is caused from the infected bite of the tsetse fly (also known as genus Glossina), which can inject harmful parasites that once in the body, they gradually invade it.
Over the course of history, African Sleeping Sickness has only been known since the late 19th century and that was only because of an epidemic. Of course, the actual disease dates back 500 million years ago, a time where there was no way for us to understand or study the parasite. During the millions of years in between the 19th century epidemic the protozoan adapted and was able to live in tsetse flies. Eventually they were able to live in humans, which shortened their already short life spans. The sickness was passed along by the unsuspecting humans through their trading routes.
In the world the disease is most …show more content…
Most of the damage inflicted by the Trypanosoma brucei is in the nervous system, which causes the victim to feel a lot of tiredness. As the disease progresses the human body starts to malfunction and die. The nervous system starts to shut down along with the body. Though the sickness is not a toxin it can be just as deadly. Like with most diseases, the immune system fights the sickness until it cannot keep up. After that the human body’s systems simply start to fail. Symptoms of the disease generally begin to show after around one to three weeks, and the second stage could start anywhere from weeks to months after the first stage. Major symptoms include: fever, headache, swollen lymph-nodes, and extreme fatigue. The second stage is slightly different as the signs are confusion, numbness, and little or no sleep. If left untreated this disease will kill its
Over the course of history, African Sleeping Sickness has only been known since the late 19th century and that was only because of an epidemic. Of course, the actual disease dates back 500 million years ago, a time where there was no way for us to understand or study the parasite. During the millions of years in between the 19th century epidemic the protozoan adapted and was able to live in tsetse flies. Eventually they were able to live in humans, which shortened their already short life spans. The sickness was passed along by the unsuspecting humans through their trading routes.
In the world the disease is most …show more content…
Most of the damage inflicted by the Trypanosoma brucei is in the nervous system, which causes the victim to feel a lot of tiredness. As the disease progresses the human body starts to malfunction and die. The nervous system starts to shut down along with the body. Though the sickness is not a toxin it can be just as deadly. Like with most diseases, the immune system fights the sickness until it cannot keep up. After that the human body’s systems simply start to fail. Symptoms of the disease generally begin to show after around one to three weeks, and the second stage could start anywhere from weeks to months after the first stage. Major symptoms include: fever, headache, swollen lymph-nodes, and extreme fatigue. The second stage is slightly different as the signs are confusion, numbness, and little or no sleep. If left untreated this disease will kill its