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sleeping sickness
nounDefinition of sleeping sickness
1
: a serious disease that is prevalent in much of tropical Africa, is marked by fever, headache, lethargy, confusion, and sleep disturbances, and is caused by either of two trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense) transmitted by tsetse flies
2
: any of various viral encephalitides or encephalomyelitides of which lethargy or somnolence is a prominent feature
Examples of sleeping sickness in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some can be downright dangerous, transmitting viruses (yellow fever, encephalitis, dengue fever, West Nile disease), bacteria (Lyme disease, typhus) or parasites (malaria, sleeping sickness). — Washington Post, "Some common garden plants might help keep bugs away," 6 Aug. 2019 DNDi has developed treatments for malaria, African sleeping sickness, leishmaniosis, Chagas disease and pediatric HIV. — Bruce Deboskey, The Denver Post, "On Philanthropy: Philanthropy is the ultimate “risk capital”," 9 June 2019 These crippling and even fatal diseases include African sleeping sickness, a brain-eating amoeba, hookworm, roundworms that infiltrate the lymphatic system, and malaria. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "UCSD steps up fight against tropical parasitical diseases," 4 July 2018 The tsetse fly, which spreads sleeping sickness, nourishes its grub inside a bizarrely mammalian uterus and feeds it with a milklike fluid—one that’s laden with microbes. — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, "The Wasp That Paints Its Nursery In Bacteria," 12 Dec. 2017 Despite the side effects, DEET is still one of the best lines of defense against not just ants but mosquitoes, which transmit deadly diseases like dengue fever, malaria, and sleeping sickness. — Kyle Frischkorn, Smithsonian, "Studying Ant “Noses” Could Lead to Better Bug Repellents," 11 July 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sleeping sickness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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