EQUATORIAL GUINEA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Equatorial Guinea for having eliminated one form of Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), otherwise known as sleeping sickness, as a public health problem.

Human African trypanosomiasis is a life-threatening disease carried by tsetse flies that afflicts poor rural populations particularly communities in West, Central and East Africa where two different variants of the disease, referred to as gambiense and rhodesiense, were rife.

The World Health Organization defines the threshold established for validating HAT elimination as fewer than 1 case per 10,000 inhabitants on average, over the last five years, in all of the country’s health districts.

Subsequently, validation of elimination requires countries to submit extensive dossiers to WHO followed by vigorous assessment by an independent group of experts who determine if the criteria for elimination as a public health problem have been met.

The general incidence of the gambiense form of the African trypanosomiasis has reduced sharply in the 21st Century. In 2021, 750 cases were reported in 11 endemic countries which represent a 95% reduction in the number of cases when compared to the 26,095 cases recorded in 2001

African countries including Benin, Uganda and Rwanda have recently seen their elimination of at least one form of the disease as a public health problem validated by WHO while Togo and Côte d’Ivoire were the first two countries to be validated as having eliminated the gambiense form in 2020.

According to the World Health Organization, the countries are still carrying out extensive laboratory tests and reactive interventions in areas where cases were diagnosed including interventions to target the vectors of disease, the tsetse flies, along with detailed plans for ongoing HAT surveillance.

“The general incidence of the gambiense form of the African trypanosomiasis has reduced sharply in the 21st Century. In 2021, 750 cases were reported in 11 endemic countries which represent a 95% reduction in the number of cases when compared to the 26,095 cases recorded in 2001,” WHO stated.

Equatorial Guinea is the latest country to eliminate the gambiense form of the disease as a public health problem within its borders in line with the targets set out in WHO’s 2030 road map for the control, elimination and eradication of neglected tropical diseases.

In addition, Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Health and partners have reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining its surveillance capacity to ensure that screening and diagnosis continues in populations at risk of contracting the disease through contact with infected tsetse flies.

The elimination of transmission as a public health problem is a clear sign of disease management progress and commitment by the Ministry of Health of Equatorial Guinea, through its human African trypanosomiasis National Control Program (PNCTHA).

Moreover, the Ministry of Health reassured that the institution will ensure that there is adequate treatment for any new cases detected along with bolstered efforts nationwide to control tsetse fly populations, noting that sleeping sickness is curable with medication but is fatal if left untreated.

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