Prevalence and risk factors for seizures in stage-2 of rhodesiense human african trypanosomiasis in zambia from january 2013 to july 2022

Introduction: Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a parasitic disease caused by an invasive parasite called the human trypanosomes. The disease is divided into two stages, namely stage-1 and stage-2. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for seizures in stage-2 of Rhodesiense HAT (rHAT) in Zambia from January 2013 to July 2022. 
Methodology: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. All case files of patients that were laboratory diagnosed with rHAT from endemic hospitals in Zambia from January 2013 to July 2022 were reviewed. 
Results: A total of 54 casefiles of all HAT patients from January 2013 to July 2022 were reviewed. There were 2 cases with history of seizures in stage-2, one Caucasian and one black Zambian out of 5 and 49 patients, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence rate of seizures between Caucasian and black patients (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in age in occurrence of seizures  between patients less than 30 years of age and those 30 years and above (P>0.05). In addition there was no statistically significant difference in occurrence of seizures between sexes (P>0.05). 
Conclusion: Being a Caucasian is probably a risk factor for seizures in stage-2 of Rhodesiense HAT in Zambia.