Question

What is the pathogen of sleeping sickness?

Answer 1

Sleeping sickness is caused by a pathogenic protozoa of genus Trypanosoma . The protozoa has flagella and an undulating membrane.

Explanation:

The pathogen is carried by Tsetse fly from infected to healthy individuals. African game animals are reservoir of the protozoa, hence the disease is often referred to as African Sleeping Sickness.

The organisms are injected in the blood by tstse fly, but they eventually appear in cerebrospinal fluid. Thus there appears several neurological symptoms including disruption of normal sleep cycle.

In the below photograph flagellated infective organisms are seen in blood.