A young man who returned a week ago from a family vacation to Kenya, develops a high fever and delirium.Although he was compliant with his antimalarial medications, a blood sample is taken to rule out malaria.The laboratory scientist sees the following on the blood smear.This organism is most likely:

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Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense are the causative agents of human African trypanosomiasis, commonly called sleeping sickness, which is seen primarily in central Africa.The diagnostic stage of trypanosomes in humans is the trypomastigote, which is usually seen in a Wright's-stained blood smear.The trypomastigote is 15 to 20 mm, with a single large nucleus and a posterior kinetoplast to which is attached the flagellum of the undulating membrane.CDC PHIL #3017

A Young Man Who Returned a Week Ago from a Family