Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is caused by infection with the parasitic protozoans Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (T.b.gambiense) or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T.b.rhodesiense) and is spread by the bite of the tsetse fly insect vector . The disease is usually fatal if not diagnosed and treated with appropriate chemotherapy. T.b.gambiense is by far the more prevalent of the two infections and is responsible for approximately 97% of all reported cases with T.b.rhodesiense accounting for the remaining 3%. The parasites are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa where approximately 70 million people are at risk of infection. However, following the application of effective control and surveillance strategies the number of reported new cases fell to less than 10,000 in 2009 and has continued to decline with less than 3000 new cases recorded in 2015 . These figures suggest that elimination of the disease, defined as less than one case per 10,000 population in at least 90% of endemic areas, by 2020 is an achievable target. Nevertheless, the reported case number likely depicts a significant under representation of the scale of the problem and WHO estimate that the actual case number is closer to 20,000 . Re-emergence of the disease to epidemic levels has occurred historically  and this recurrence emphasises the necessity to sustain current control strategies.