Also called African sleeping sickness,African trypanosomiasis.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,lethargic encephalitis.a viral disease affecting the brain, characterized by apathy, sleepiness, extreme muscular weakness, and impairment of vision.
British Dictionary definitions for sleeping sickness
sleeping sickness
noun
Also called: African sleeping sicknessan African disease caused by infection with protozoans of the genus Trypanosoma, characterized by fever, wasting, and sluggishness
Also called (esp formerly): sleepy sicknessan epidemic viral form of encephalitis characterized by extreme drowsinessTechnical name: encephalitis lethargica
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.
