© 2004 by Oxford University Press
Case Reports |
Congenital Trypanosomiasis
A1 Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University Teaching Hospital, A2 Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University Teaching Hospital, A3 Department of Veterinary Services, Lusaka, Zambia
The last successfully treated case of congenital trypanosomiasis in Zambia was in October 1978, with detailed analysis of immunoglobulins, illustrating the waning of blood and serum levels of IgA, IgG, and IgM during treatment, up to 99 days after treatment.Twenty-five years later, we report on a case of congenital trypanosomiasis. The disease is now rare and can be missed or dismissed as retroviral disease, particularly in adults. The main unusual symptoms were the prolonged intermittent convulsions in an otherwise well infant. Management of the disease is now more interdisciplinary, resources for laboratory support are fewer, lumbar puncture is more relevant, and antitrypanosomal drugs are more difficult to obtain. The mother died within one week of hospitalization and the infant initially responded to three doses of suramin and 3 weeks of melsopropol. Convulsions ceased during the second round of melsopropol. Unfortunately, the infant died of nosocomial infection.
* Correspondence: Dr Mary Shilalukey Ngoma, PO Box 50110, School of Medicine, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Lusaka, Zambia. E-mail <docngoma{at}yahoo.com>