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Step 1
Recognize the early stage of HAT by the painless lesion that appears 5 to 15 days after a tse-tse fly bite. The patient begins to experience fatigue, intermittent fever, headaches, muscle aches and swollen lymph nodes about three weeks after the bite. A few patients also may experience itching and facial edema.
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Step 2
Observe the symptoms of late-stage HAT as Trypanosoma invades the central nervous system. This stage is marked by persistent headaches, sleeping during the day with insomnia at night and behavioral changes. Severe trypanosomiasis can cause neurological problems such as encephalitis, coma and death.
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Step 3
Perform general laboratory tests to indicate HAT. The most suggestive results are a low albumin level, low red blood cell and platelet count, an increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and an increase in gammaglobulins.
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Step 4
Run traditional specific tests for trypanosomes. Lymph node fluid or a Giemsa-stained thick blood smear can be examined for mobile parasites within 15 to 20 minutes.
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Step 5
Examine the results from more accurate assays including hematocrit and miniature anion-exchange centrifugation. Double centrifugation of the cerebrospinal fluid is the most sensitive assay.
