Prevention, Control and Treatment Strategies for Trypanosomiasis: A Review

Abstract

Tryponosomiasis is a disease that afflicts populations in rural Africa, where the tsetse fly vector that transmits the causative trypanosome parasites thrives. There are two forms of Human African Trypanosomosis (HAT): one, known as gambiense HAT, is endemic in West and Central Africa and causes over 95% of current cases; the other, known as rhodesiense HAT, is endemic in East and southern Africa and accounts for the remainder of cases. The presence of parasites in the brain leads to progressive neurological breakdown. Changes to sleep–wake patterns are among the symptoms that characterize the disease, also known as “sleeping sickness”. Eventually, patients fall into a coma and die if not treated. Different treatments are available against parasites present in the haemo-lymphatic system (first-stage) and those that have entered the brain (second-stage). Currently, lumbar puncture is required to select the appropriate drug. The paper was aimed to review the prevention and treatment strategies for tryponosomiasis.