How is sleeping sickness diagnosed?
To establish the diagnosis, the parasite has to be detected in a blood sample, fluid from lymph nodes or cerebrospinal fluid. Diagnosis of sleeping sickness can be made by microscopic examination of fluid from the original sore at the site of the tsetse fly bite. Trypanosomes will be present in the fluid for a short period of time following the bite. If the sore has already resolved, fluid can be obtained from swollen lymph nodes for examination. Other methods of trypanosome diagnosis involve culturing blood, lymph node fluid, bone marrow, or spinal fluid. These cultures are then injected into rats, which develop blood-borne protozoa infection which can be detected in blood smears within one to two weeks. However, this last method is effective only for the Rhodesian variety of sleeping sickness. |
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