Prevalence of human African trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dieudonne Mumba, Elaine Bohorquez, Jane Messina, Victor Kande, Steven M Taylor, Antoinette K Tshefu, Jeremie Muwonga, Melchior M Kashamuka, Michael Emch, Richard Tidwell, Philippe Büscher, Steven R Meshnick, Dieudonne Mumba, Elaine Bohorquez, Jane Messina, Victor Kande, Steven M Taylor, Antoinette K Tshefu, Jeremie Muwonga, Melchior M Kashamuka, Michael Emch, Richard Tidwell, Philippe Büscher, Steven R Meshnick

Abstract

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a major public health problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Active and passive surveillance for HAT is conducted but may underestimate the true prevalence of the disease. We used ELISA to screen 7,769 leftover dried blood spots from a nationally representative population-based survey, the 2007 Demographic and Health Survey. 26 samples were positive by ELISA. Three of these were also positive by trypanolysis and/or PCR. From these data, we estimate that there were 18,592 people with HAT (95% confidence interval, 4,883-32,302) in the DRC in 2007, slightly more than twice as many as were reported.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1. Map of the 300 sites…
Figure 1. Map of the 300 sites from which dried blood spots were obtained and where the positive cases were detected.
Figure 2. Flow chart showing processing of…
Figure 2. Flow chart showing processing of samples.

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Source: PubMed

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