TKO confirms Ivory Coast for the elimination of sleep diseases as a public health problem

Ivory Coast it has successfully eliminated human African trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleep disease,” as a public health problem, becoming the second African country after Togo to be certified by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“I dedicate this milestone to decades of hard work and the individual contribution of each individual health worker who has endured the most difficult challenges in reaching the population, often in remote rural areas,” said Dr. Aka Aouele, Minister of Health and Public Hygiene of Côte d’Ivoire. “Our challenge now is to maintain the required level of oversight and, with the help of all, achieve a cessation of transmission by 2030.”

1990s, Ivory Coast reported hundreds of cases of sleeping sickness each year. Cases have been gradually declining over the last 2 decades, and in recent years the country has recorded less than 10 cases per year. At this low level, the Ivory Coast qualifies as disease removal as a public health problem.

This achievement is attributed to robust surveillance and surveillance measures, active (and passive) screening of at-risk people, and targeted vector control, which has helped to strongly reduce the number of cases in transmission areas. Hospitals and health centers checked patients using special diagnostic tests, while laboratory mobile units examined people in the villages.

“Achieving Ivory Coast marks an important step that brings Africa closer to eliminating sleeping sickness,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “The control measures maintained over the last two decades have brought a significant drop in cases – a positive sign that many countries will soon cross this border.”

Treatment of infected people meant that the vector – the ceca fly – could no longer transmit the disease to others. This had to be maintained for years in order for the disease to progressively eliminate.

“The result Ivory Coast has achieved after decades of fighting African human trypanosomiasis reflects the excellent leadership of the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene through the NRA’s Elimination Program Directorate,” said Dr. Jean Marie Vianny Yameogo, WHO Representative in Côte d’Ivoire. . “It is also an expression of the commitment and determination of regional and line health administrations, health workers, community participation in control strategies and the vitality of the partnership.”

Two other countries – Benin and Equatorial Guinea – have submitted their dossiers to the WHO, seeking confirmation to eliminate sleeping sickness as a public health problem.¹.

Under the auspices of the WHO, national control programs, bilateral cooperation agencies and NGOs have significantly reduced the incidence of the disease to unprecedented low numbers – less than 1,000 globally to be precise – before 2020.

Sleeping sickness is a potentially fatal disease that is spread by the bite of an infected ceca fly, a species native to the African continent. More than 60 million people living mainly in rural parts of 36 countries across East, Central and West Africa are at risk of contracting the disease.

Validation to eliminate a public health problem

The WHO assesses the validity of each state. It is necessary to submit a complete dossier containing detailed information on the past and present incidence of the disease throughout the territory. The country must show evidence of effective ongoing surveillance to prove that the ability to detect the disease is strong. Data must be below the specific thresholds required by the WHO – which is below 1 case per 10,000 population in all counties – over a five-year period.

WHO and partners aim to end the transmission Trypanosoma brucei gambiense form of the disease in all endemic countries by 2030.

The main approaches to combating sleeping sickness include reducing the reservoir of infection and reducing the presence of tsetse flies.

Checking at-risk individuals helps identify patients during the early stages of the disease. If the diagnosis is made early, it is possible to avoid complicated and risky treatment procedures during the advanced stage.

Disease

African human trypanosomiasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by infection with protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. The causative agent of the parasite is transmitted to humans by the bite of the tsetse fly (Glossina genus) that has been infected by humans or animals containing human pathogenic parasites.

There are two forms of the disease: one due to trypanosome gambiense, which is found in 24 countries of West and Central Africa and accounts for more than 98% of cases; and others because Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, located in 13 countries of East and South Africa, and explains the remaining cases.

When it is bitten by an infected cec fly, red sores can break out within a few weeks. A person may feel fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore muscles and joints, headache and irritability.

People who become infected feel lethargic and sleepy during the day and then awake at night but exhausted. This is followed by neuropsychiatric and sensory disorders, followed by coma. Death can occur within months or even years.

———————————————–