Sustainable Elimination (Zero Cases) of Sleeping Sickness: How Far Are We from Achieving This Goal?

Abstract

The recent massive reduction in the numbers of fresh Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) infection has presented an opportunity for the global elimination of this disease. To prevent a possible resurgence, as was the case after the reduced transmission of the 1960s, surveillance needs to be sustained and the necessary tools for detection and treatment of cases need to be made available at the points of care. In this review, we examine the available resources and make recommendations for improvement to ensure the sustenance of the already achieved gains to keep the trend moving towards elimination.

Keywords

• Human African Trypanosomiasis
• elimination
• <i>T. b. gambiense</i>
• <i>T. b. rhodesiense</i>