East African Sleeping Sickness Detected in Zambia and Zimbabwe

Several cases of East African sleeping sickness have been reported among travelers returning from areas in Zambia and Zimbabwe, which often conduct safaris for visitors.

According to the WHO, sleeping sickness, also called African trypanosomiasis, is caused by a parasite transmitted by an infected tsetse fly, which is found only in sub-Saharan Africa.

There are two types of sleeping sickness, East African and West African. East African sleeping sickness progresses more quickly, within one to several weeks of exposure.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on December 18, 2024, that it had issued a Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Health Advisory regarding this unusual, potentially fatal situation.

Expidiated diagnosis and treatment can be lifesaving.

According to the WHO, anti-trypanosomals are donated and distributed free to endemic countries.

The CDC wrote that people should seek medical care immediately if they develop headache, fever, fatigue, skin rash, muscle aches, or a red sore, called a chancre, during or after travel to safari regions of Zambia or Zimbabwe, and they think a tsetse fly may have bitten you.

As of December 2024, no vaccines are authorized to prevent either type of sleeping sickness.