Tsetse fly bites can be quite painful. Travelers often recall being bitten. A painful sore often shows up at the site of the bite within a week or so. It’s called a chancre.

Each person may have slightly different symptoms. But symptoms tend to happen within 1 to 4 weeks of infection. At first, they may include fever, skin lesions, rash, swelling, or swollen lymph nodes on the back of the neck. After many weeks, the infection may become meningoencephalitis. This is an infection of the brain and the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. As the illness gets worse, symptoms may include:

Severe headache

Personality change
Weight loss
Irritability
Loss of concentration
Progressive confusion
Slurred speech
Seizures
Difficulty walking and talking
Sleeping for long periods of the day
Insomnia at night

If left untreated, death will occur within several weeks to months. The symptoms of African sleeping sickness may look like other health problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.