[Sleeping sickness in children and its long term after-effects. Apropos 110 personal observations at Fontem Hospital (Cameroon)]

Abstract

This study has been conducted in Fontem hospital (Cameroon). In the first part, the author describes the clinical symptoms leading to the diagnosis : change in the general condition, headache, fever and sleeping disorder are starting symptoms, which are rarely observed in the youngest children. One child out of three has encephalic troubles such as altered motor development or psycho-neurotic disorders. Motor troubles affect only children in the cerebral polarisation phase. The second part of this paper considers the sequellae observed in 120 children: half of them are affected but 12 p. 100 are seriously handicapped. Slow psychomotor development and psychoneurotic troubles exist in 11,5 p. 100 of the children, even for those a diagnosis was made at an early stage. Adversely a late diagnosis is responsible of severe motor sequellae in 6,5 p. 100 of all the young patients.