During the second stage of the disease, the parasite crosses the blood-brain barrier and attacks the central nervous system. Neurological complications include slurred speech, confusion, and difficulty with walking. West African Sleeping Sickness. However, it is a chronic disease in which symptoms may not appear for months to years after the initial infection. Initial symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, swelling of face and hands, skin rash, fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue.
Weight loss is common as the disease progresses.
Neurological impairment occurs during the second stage in which the victim can experience personality changes, slurred speech, changes in sleep patterns, progressive confusion, difficulty with walking, and seizures. Sleeping sickness has a profound impact on the health of a large portion of sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the economic impact of sleeping sickness is significant owing to the dramatic reduction in the labor force and resulting decrease in economic productivity. This in turn has countless added direct and indirect impacts on the quality of life of people in affected countries. Seven species of tsetse flies in the genus Glossina act as vectors of the disease to humans.