Stakeholders in the health sector are to collaborate to improve the sensitisation of medical personnel to the rising Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) also known as Sleeping Sickness, in Enugu State.
  
They also identified the need to liaise with the World Health Organisation (WHO) state office and other local and international organisations for requisite resources to curb the possible resurgence of HAT in the country. 
  
Rising from their meeting held at the Vaccine Research Centre (VRC) of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus, they stated that research findings in Enugu and other parts of Nigeria indicated the continued occurrence of the disease among the populace, without medical diagnosis and reporting.
 
The stakeholders said the centre had affirmed the presence of the disease among patients in the state.
 
They blamed the lack of coordination in HAT surveillance, the disparity between WHO data and research reports in the literature,  limited access to field surveillance kits for detecting HAT cases, the unreliability of some diagnostic test kits for detecting HAT, lack of awareness and capacity for physicians to suspect and query potential HAT cases and high probability of misdiagnosis for malaria due to similarity of symptoms, especially at the early stage, for the surge.
  
A statement signed by Dr Onyinye Chime (Chairman) and Ebuka Ugwu (Secretary), resolved to build capacity and improve sensitisation for health workers by the relevant authorities and partners to improve case detection.
  
They agreed that researchers should be encouraged to conduct, publish and disseminate their findings to improve data availability from Enugu State and Nigeria.
  
Sources stated that the disease is mainly transmitted through the bite of Tsetse flies (Glossina), but mother-to-child transmission, and transmission through sexual contact have also been implicated.
  
It is said to affect mainly rural dwellers, and presents symptoms similar to those of malaria in its early stage, with nervous symptoms such as confusion, seizures and sleep disorders in the later stages.