African sleeping sickness in tourists returning from Tanzania: the first 2 Italian cases from a small outbreak among European travelers.
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.
Ripamonti
Diego
D
Infectious Diseases Unit, General Hospital of Bergamo, Italy. djnrip@tin.it
Massari
Marco
M
Arici
Claudio
C
Gabbi
Ermanno
E
Farina
Claudio
C
Brini
Maria
M
Capatti
Carlo
C
Suter
Fredy
F
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014195:Travel; D014347:Trypanosoma brucei gambiense; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission