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Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosoma brucei)

$12.95

Out of Stock
Are you tired? Working too hard? Feeling a bit cranky? Do you think you might have sleeping sickness? This little fellow will sing you a lullaby you'll never forget.



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  • Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosoma brucei) Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosoma brucei) GMUS-PD-0690
    $12.95

    Out of stock

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Sizes Giantmicrobes are based on actual microbes, cells, organisms and other critters, only 1,000,000 times actual size!
Gigantic (GG) 16-24"
XL (XL) 10-15"
Original (PD) 5-8"
Keychain (KC) 2-4" with clip
Materials Plush from all new materials. Stuffed with polyester fiber fill. Surface washable: sponge with water & soap, air dry.
Packaging Each plush microbe includes a printed card with fun, educational and fascinating facts about the actual microbe or cell.
Safety Every product meets or exceeds U.S. and European standards for safety. For ages 3 and up.

All about Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosoma brucei)

FACTS: Of all the terrifying creatures in Africa, few are as frightening as the little tsetse fly. (Tsetse means “fly” in Setswana – so a tsetse fly is a fly… fly.) To begin with, the bite of this bumblebee-sized insect really hurts! But far more ominously, tsetse carry the dreaded Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for sleeping sickness.

Headaches and fever are often the first indications of the protozoan’s dreadful purpose. These are followed by Winterbottom’s sign – the swollen lymph nodes behind the ears and just above the base of the neck which herald the true nature of the infection.

As it spreads from the bloodstream to the central nervous system (over the course of weeks or years, depending on the variety), personality changes begin to occur. Irritability, concentration difficulties, and slurred speech are evident – and of course, extreme fatigue. Without treatment, coma and death are assured.

Sleeping sickness traumatizes at least 20,000 people a year (and unreported cases may amount to ten times more). But it is confined to the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa where the tsetse reside, so you probably just need a good night’s rest. Sweet dreams. Bzzz.....

 
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