Sleeping Sickness Plush

Giant Microbes Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosoma Brucei) plush

Are you tired? Working too hard? Feeling a bit cranky? Do you think you might have sleeping sickness? This little fellow will sing you a lullaby you'll never forget.



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A unique product guaranteed to rouse your favorite sleepyhead
An educational tool for medical professionals and educators


All About Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosoma Brucei)

FACTS: Of all the terrifying creatures in Africa, few are as frightening as the little tsetse fly. (Tsetse means "fly" in Setswana - so a tsetse fly is a fly... fly.) To begin with, the bite of this bumblebee-sized insect really hurts! But far more ominously, tsetse carry the dreaded Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for sleeping sickness.

Headaches and fever are often the first indications of the protozoan’s dreadful purpose. These are followed by Winterbottom’s sign - the swollen lymph nodes behind the ears and just above the base of the neck which herald the true nature of the infection.

As it spreads from the bloodstream to the central nervous system (over the course of weeks or years, depending on the variety), personality changes begin to occur. Irritability, concentration difficulties, and slurred speech are evident - and of course, extreme fatigue. Without treatment, coma and death are assured.

Sleeping sickness traumatizes at least 20,000 people a year (and unreported cases may amount to ten times more). But it is confined to the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa where the tsetse reside, so you probably just need a good night’s rest. Sweet dreams. Bzzz.....

CURE Medications are prescribed for anyone with the disease, however, the type of medicine depends on the type of infection and the stage of the disease.

HISTORY 1901: Identified by Forde in an English patient

1902: Dutton found the parasite and named them Trypanosoma gambiense.

Big Outbreaks:
1920: epidemic took place in many African countries and was controlled by screening at-risk individuals

Recent Outbreaks:
The most recent outbreak in Africa started in 1970 and lasted until the late 1990s

FASCINATING FACTS In 2009 the number of cases reported dropped below 10,000 for the first time in 50 years!