1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Burkina Faso

Sleeping sickness hits new low

The tsetse fly. IAEA
For the first time in half a century, the number of new diagnosed cases of human African trypanosomiasis -also known as sleeping sickness - has dropped below 10,000 thanks to partnerships with drug companies and improved screening, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

The parasite, spread by infected tsetse flies mostly found in rural sub-Saharan Africa, can invade a person’s central nervous system and lead to psychiatric and sleep disorders, and if untreated, death. Because of under-reporting, estimates of the actual number of infections range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Fighting back
 New treatment for sleeping sickness
 Detecting stealth sleeping sickness
 Dipstick diagnosis for under-reported diseases
 Hunt for sleeping sickness drug continues
 Tsetse fly costs agriculture billions every year
In 2009, there were 9,877 new reported cases compared with 17,600 in 2004 and 38,000 in 1998. “The historic drop in cases is the result of improved and persistent field activities and of active systematic screening,” Pere Simarro, head of WHO’s Human African Trypanosomiasis Programme, told IRIN. More health centres in 36 endemic sub-Saharan countries are diagnosing the disease.

Though 72 percent more people were tested from 2000-2009 than during the previous decade, scientists say lack of low-tech, rapid testing and safe drugs has prevented the elimination of the disease. The highest number of cases were reported in Democratic Republic of Congo (80 percent), followed by Central African Republic (11 percent).

pt/mw

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join