View synonyms for sleeping sickness

sleeping sickness

[ slee-ping sik-nis ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Pathology.

Also called African sleeping sickness,. a generally fatal disease, common in parts of Africa, characterized by fever, wasting, and progressive lethargy: caused by a parasitic protozoan, Trypanosoma gambiense or T. rhodesiense, that is carried by a tsetse fly, Glossina palpalis.
Also called epidemic encephalitis,. a viral disease affecting the brain, characterized by apathy, sleepiness, extreme muscular weakness, and impairment of vision.

sleeping sickness

Also calledAfrican sleeping sickness an African disease caused by infection with protozoans of the genus Trypanosoma, characterized by fever, wasting, and sluggishness
Also called (esp formerly)sleepy sickness an epidemic viral form of encephalitis characterized by extreme drowsiness Technical nameencephalitis lethargica

sleeping sickness

/ slē′pĭng /

An often fatal protozoan infection prevalent in tropical Africa, caused by either of two trypanosomes spread by the bite of the tsetse fly and characterized by fever and extreme lethargy.
Encephalitis that is caused by any of various viruses and is characterized by lethargy and extreme muscular weakness.

First recorded in 1870–75

"Sleeping sickness" is a late stage when the organisms have invaded the cerebrospinal fluid.

While in Nairobi we visited the little station where experiments are being made in the "sleeping sickness."

These districts have been known for a number of years, long before the sleeping sickness became known.

It was strange that this man, who never could have closed his eyes again, should have been stricken down by the sleeping sickness.

Anyway, I am going to cure her of the sleeping sickness, even if I have to invest in a blacksnake whip.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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