SLEEPING SICKNESS, Sleeping Dropsy, Negro Lethargy. A term applied to several distinct diseases. The first is a tropical disease caused by a parasite, Trypanosome ya?nbiense, carried by a tsetse fly Glossina palpalis. This discovery was made in 1903. It is now considered possible that rat fleas play a part in its dissemination, and mosquitoes and other species of fly have also been suspected. The cause of the symptoms appears to be an inflammation of the lymphatics pro duced by the presence of the trypanosome. This inflammation finally injures the brain, spinal cord, and their membranes, and leads to the so-called cerebral stage of the disease, which gave it the name sleeping sickness. Probably within two or three weeks after the bite of an infected fly the victim develops a fever, often accompanied by an eruption. The fever is intermittent or remittent. There may be neuralgic pains and the lymphatic glands are enlarged. During this stage the disease may be cured. Later, some times after weeks or months of fever, the victim gradually loses his brightness, has difficulty in walking, is dull and apathetic, and develops a sort of palsy. Epilepti
form fits may occur. Emaciation and muscular weakness gradually increase, the saliva dribbles from the mouth, the Intelligence wanes, and coma appears with a subnormal temperature. and the patient dies. This sleeping stage lasts from a few weeks to several months.
The only drug that has proved of any value is arsenic. This has been adminis tered in various forms. Another disease of the same name appears at intervals in the United States and Europe. Its tech nical name is lethargic encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. While there is a close relation in the symptoms to in fantile paralysis, the two diseases prob ably have no connection. No definite rem edy has been discovered for this malady. The best known preparation is called atoxyl.