Prognosis
Untreated rhodesiense infection is fatal. Gambiense infection triggers the typical sleeping sickness disease. Therefore, it is imperative to treat both the diseases without delay. The blood borne stage is the opportune time to treat the disease. If left untreated, the disease progresses to a near irrevocable stage, meningoencephalitis, when treatment might not lead to positive results.
Statistics has shown that if chagas disease is left untreated, nearly 30% of people go on to grapple chronic disease. This may cause irreparable damage to the heart or cause gastrointestinal problems, which manifest in the victim after 20 years following the onset of infection.
