[East African sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma rhodesiense infection) in 2 Swiss travelers to the tropics].

We report on two Swiss travellers who acquired African sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma rhodesiense) the same day while visiting the Akagera park in Rwanda. The first patient developed clinical signs of sleeping sickness 8 days after being bitten by a tsetse fly. Trypanosomes were demonstrated in the blood and CSF. The other patient fell ill 13 days after the bite and trypanosomes were found only in blood samples. The first patient (cerebral trypanosomiasis), was treated with melarsoprol. He developed an allergic reaction under treatment but made a good recovery 4 months later. The second patient (hemo-lymphatic trypanosomiasis) was put on suramin, which was well tolerated. He recovered after 2 months.