02948nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260003700042653002800079653001100107653003100118653002100149653001500170653003500185100001200220700001400232700001500246700001400261700001400275700001700289700001700306700001600323700001100339245014300350856009900493300000700592490000700599520201400606022001402620       2025                            d  bPublic Library of Science (PLoS)10aAfrican trypanosomiasis10aAngola10aInfectious disease control10aHealth screening10aTsetse fly10aPublic and occupational health1 aOuma JO1 aKayembe S1 aBessell PR1 aMakana DP1 aDala ADCP1 aPeliganga LB1 aNdung’u JM1 aMachado CPF1 aOjo KK00aBold strides towards the elimination of gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (gHAT) as a public health problem—A case study of Angola  uhttps://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012847&type=printable  a170 v193 a<p><strong>Background:&nbsp;</strong>The chronic form of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and commonly referred to as gambiense-HAT (gHAT) is endemic in 7 of Angola’s 18 provinces. Major epidemics of the disease occurred in the country in the 1920s to 1940s and 1990s –mid 2000s, and current estimates are that up to a third of the country’s population is at risk of infection. Whereas gHAT was first reported in Angola in 1871, control efforts did not begin until 30 years later in 1901. This case study describes the history of gHAT in Angola, outlines the policies and strategies used in its control, and the intensification efforts being made to accelerate progress towards elimination. Furthermore, it highlights factors that have contributed to recurrent outbreaks of gHAT in the country and key achievements in the push towards elimination.</p>

<p><strong>Methods:</strong> Literature review was conducted using online databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, WHO HAT data repository, and the African Union Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control (ISCTRC) conference proceedings. Data/information not found in these databases was availed through personal communication with colleagues from Instituto de Combate e Controlo das Tripanossomiases (ICCT). The search of databases was conducted using the following terms: “human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) control/elimination in Angola,” “sleeping sickness/HAT control in Angola,” “HAT epidemics in Angola.”</p>

<p><strong>Results and conclusion:</strong> Overall, the interventions put in place over the years have led to significant reduction in the number of new HAT cases reported annually, from an average of 3,496 (between 1990 and 2006) to an average of 56 cases between 2016 and 2023. This has renewed the hope of achieving elimination of gHAT as a public health problem by 2030.</p>
  a1935-2735