Possible causes leading to an epidemic outbreak of sleeping sickness: facts and hypotheses

Abstract

Sleeping sickness epidemics have been noted to occur with some degree of periodicity and the question as to why this is so has been asked for quite a long time. These epidemics have been partially controlled in the past using the conventional methods of bush clearing, mass diagnostic surveys and treatment. Political, social and economic upheavals have been found to be very important factors in the recurrence of these epidemics. In addition, a number of facts and hypotheses have been advanced as possible causes of epidemic outbreaks of sleeping sickness. This paper presents a brief account of factual epidemic outbreaks of sleeping sickness in south eastern Uganda (Busoga) and then proceeds to discuss, in general terms, a number of hypotheses that have been incriminated to date, as possible causes that might lead to an epidemic outbreak of the disease.