West African, or Gambian, trypanosomiasis is a slower-developing chronic form of the disease caused by T. brucei gambiense. It is transmitted by the tsetse fly ( Glossina species), which is found only in sub-Saharan Africa. East African, or Rhodesian, sleeping sickness is an acute form of the disease caused by the subspecies T. brucei rhodesiense. In this review of the pathology of human African sleeping sickness, the initial pathological reactions to the invading parasite will be first described, and then those in the organism at the different stages of disease.

East African, or Rhodesian, sleeping sickness is an acute form of the disease caused by the subspecies T. brucei rhodesiense. Humans are the main reservoir of both forms. West African , or Gambian, trypanosomiasis is a slower-developing chronic form of the disease caused by T. brucei gambiense .

Human African Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, is a disease caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. African Trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleeping sickness”, is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. A focus will be given to alterations in the nervous system, since neurological and neuropsychiatric changes are the most prominent features of the disease in humans. These hemoflagellate protozoa are transmitted by the bite of various species of Glossina, the tsetse fly.