Awaking a sleeping epidemic

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Authors

Van Coller, Riaan
Van Rensburg, Elna
Schutte, Clara-Maria
Brink, Delene
Welthagen, Gerhard Frederick
Dove, Mike G.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

South African Medical Association

Abstract

Two patients with African sleeping sickness (SS) presented to the neurology unit, Pretoria Academic Hospital, during 2004 and 2005. SS has shown a recent resurgence, with epidemics in the Sudan, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The number of infected people in Africa is currently estimated at more than 500 000. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 20 Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and 30 T. b. rhodesiense infections are diagnosed yearly outside endemic areas in Africa. Migration, tourism, peacekeeping and military interventions and the re-emergence of SS epidemics might increase these numbers.1 The electroencephalogram (EEG) is often useful in the diagnosis of coma and delirium, but has not been widely used in the diagnosis of SS. The EEG is proposed as a novel way to follow disease progression, treatment response and treatmentinduced encephalopathy.

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Keywords

Treatment-induced encephalopathy, Treatment response, Disease progression, Electroencephalogram, Diagnosis, African sleeping sickness, Case studies

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Van Coller, R, Van Rensburg, E, Schutte, C, Brink, D, Welthagen, G & Dove, MG 2007, 'Awaking a sleeping epidemic', South African Medical Journal, vol. 97, no. 4, pp. 250-251. [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_m_samj.html]