African Sleeping Sickness in Tourists Returning from Tanzania: The First 2 Italian Cases from a Small Outbreak among European Travelers

Ripamonti, Diego
Massari, Marco
Claudio, Arici
Ermanno, Gabbi
Claudio, Farina
Brini, Maria
Capatti, Carlo
Suter, Fredy

¹Infectious Diseases Unit, Bergamo
²Microbiology Department, General Hospital of Bergamo, Bergamo
³Infectious Diseases Unit, Reggio Emilia, Italy
⁴Biochemistry Laboratory, Reggio Emilia, Italy
⁵Microbiology Department, Arcispedale St. Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy

Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Diego Ripamonti, Divisione di Malattie Infettive, Ospedali Riuniti, Largo Barozzi, 1, Bergamo, 24100 Italy ([email protected]).

Received 7 May 2001; revised 22 August 2001

Clinical Infectious Diseases 34(1):p e18-e22, January 1, 2002. | DOI: 10.1086/338157

A recent cluster of cases of African trypanosomiasis in humans (HAT) has been reported in tourists (most of whom were European) returning from Tanzania; we describe the first 2 patients (both of whom were Italian travelers) with HAT, who have been treated successfully. Because neither vaccine nor drug prophylaxis is currently recommended and/or available for persons traveling to areas of endemicity, physicians should be alerted about this uncommon but potentially life-threatening disease.