Case of the Month
“The Delirious Photographer”
A disease simulation using GIDEON's diagnosis module.
A 55 year old American photographer returned home after a six-week trip to the game parks of Tanzania. Four weeks after return, he developed headache, myalgia, arthralgia, weight loss and intermittent fever. The patient is noticeably confused and distracted, and physical examination reveals hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy in the supraclavicular and cervical regions.
The hemogram is normal, but the cerebrospinal fluid contains 20 lymphocytes per mm3.
What is your diagnosis?
Clinical findings were entered into GIDEON:
and the diagnosis result was:
In addition to the diagnosis of Trypanosomiasis - African, GIDEON provided the following information specific to Tanzania:
1.Trypanosomiasis due to T. brucei gambiense entered Tanzania from Zaire in approximately 1902; T.b. rhodesiense from Mozambique in 1910.
2.Highest prevalence occurs in Arusha and Kigoma.
3.An estimated 1,5 million persons lived in endemic zones during the 1980's.
4.An American tourist developed trypanosomiasis while in Tanzania in 1981.
5. In 2001, 10 cases were reported among tourists returning from Tanzania: including 3 in the Netherlands, 2 in Italy, and one each in Sweden, Belgium, South Africa, The United States and the United Kingdom. All had visited Tarangire and Serengeti National Parks.
6. The local vectors are Glossina morsitans, G. pallidipes and G. swynnertoni.
