Open AccessPrevalence of Human African Trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Author(s) -
Dieudonné Mumba,
Elaine Bohorquez,
Jane P. Messina,
Victor Kande,
Steven M. Taylor,
Antoinette Tshefu,
Jérémie Muwonga,
Melchior Kashamuka,
Michael Emch,
Richard R. Tidwell,
Philippe Büscher,
Steven R. Meshnick
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001246
Subject(s) - african trypanosomiasis , neglected tropical diseases , trypanosomiasis , virology , democracy , endemic diseases , geography , medicine , environmental health , political science , public health , pathology , politics , law
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.