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Medical Definition of West African sleeping sickness
1. A chronic disease of humans caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in northern and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan and Uganda; characterised by splenomegaly, drowsiness, an uncontrollable urge to sleep, and the development of psychotic changes; basal ganglia and cerebellar involvement commonly lead to chorea and athetosis; the terminal phase of the disease is characterised by wasting, anorexia, and emaciation that gradually leads to coma and death, usually from intercurrent infection. Synonym: chronic African sleeping sickness, chronic trypanosomiasis, West African sleeping sickness, West African trypanosomiasis. (05 Mar 2000)