African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, is caused by Trypanosoma brucei parasites in sub-Saharan Africa and is transmitted by the tsetse fly (Glossina).

Sleeping sickness is characterized by two stages of illness. American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi parasites in Latin America and is … This protozoan enters the human body when a person receives a bite from an infected tsetse fly. This form currently accounts for 98% of reported cases of sleeping sickness and causes a chronic infection. A person can be infected for months or even years without major signs or symptoms of the disease. Sleeping sickness, also called African trypanosomiasis, disease caused by infection with the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or the closely related subspecies T. brucei rhodesiense, transmitted by the tsetse fly (genus Glossina). Sleeping sickness is an infectious illness caused by a parasitic protozoan known as Trypanosoma brucei. This fly is only found in parts of tropical Africa, hence the disease is mainly limited to that region. Image: Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in a Giemsa-stained blood smear. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is found in 24 countries in west and central Africa.