sleeping sickness

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Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A serious tropical disease: "sleeping sickness" is a severe, often fatal disease transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly, characterized by fever, headaches, and extreme lethargy that can lead to prolonged sleep, coma, and death.
    • A specific historical epidemic: In a specific historical context, it can refer to an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica that occurred in the early 20th century, marked by symptoms such as paralysis of the eye muscles and profound muscular weakness.
Usage Examples
  • Noun:
    • The spread of sleeping sickness is a major health concern in parts of rural Africa.
    • Early symptoms of sleeping sickness include fever and severe headaches.
    • The historical sleeping sickness epidemic after World War I left many patients in a statue-like state.
Advanced Usage
  • "to contract sleeping sickness": to become infected with the disease.
    • Travelers are advised to take precautions to avoid contracting sleeping sickness in endemic regions.
Variants and Related Words
  • Trypanosomiasis (n): The technical medical term for sleeping sickness, specifically African trypanosomiasis.
    • Human African trypanosomiasis is the scientific name for sleeping sickness.
  • Encephalitis lethargica (n): The historical epidemic disease often referred to as "sleeping sickness" in the early 20th century.
    • The novel explored the lives of survivors of encephalitis lethargica.
Synonyms
  • African trypanosomiasis: The formal medical synonym.
  • Encephalitis lethargica: Specifically for the historical epidemic form.
Related Phrases
  • Tsetse fly-borne disease: A descriptive phrase highlighting the method of transmission.
    • Sleeping sickness is a classic example of a tsetse fly-borne disease.
Noun
  1. an encephalitis that was epidemic between 1915 and 1926; symptoms include paralysis of the extrinsic eye muscle and extreme muscular weakness

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