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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.