Guinea has eliminated the Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness -- a neglected tropical disease, as a public health problem.
Human African trypanosomiasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by infected tsetse flies.
Guinea's Minister of Health and Public Hygiene Dr Oumar Diouhé BAH said the elimination of sleeping sickness is the result of many years of effort by the Guinean government, its partners and communities.
World Health Organisation Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti noted that the elimination of HAT by Guinea is a significant public health achievement.
“Vulnerable families and communities can now live free of the threat posed by this potentially fatal disease,” Moeti said.
“I congratulate the government, health workers, partners and communities for this crucial milestone. WHO remains committed to supporting countries to eliminate human African trypanosomiasis and other neglected tropical diseases in Africa.”
WHO said this form of HAT, the only type transmitted in Guinea, is the first neglected tropical disease to be eliminated in the country.
It acknowledged that the development marks an important achievement in this public health field on the eve of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, marked on January 30.
“Today’s announcement is both a testament to the global progress against neglected tropical diseases and a beacon of hope for nations still battling human African trypanosomiasis,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added.
HAT or sleeping sickness, is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by infected tsetse flies.
Symptoms include fever, headaches, joint pain and, in advanced stages, neurological symptoms like confusion, disrupted sleep patterns and behavioural changes.
WHO said the disease resurged along Guinea’s coast in the 1990s due to increased human activity in mangroves, driven by Conakry’s economic and population growth.
In response to the critical threat posed by HAT, Guinea’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene established the National Programme for the Control of HAT in 2002, with support from WHO and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).
It has partners such as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and the Institut Pasteur de Guinée.
The programme began with mass medical screenings to diagnose and treat cases effectively, marking a crucial step in controlling the disease.
The programme introduced vector control interventions in 2012 aiming to interrupt contact between people and tsetse flies.
Initially implemented in the Boffa-East area, the strategy expanded nationwide by 2016, with nearly 15,000 impregnated mini-screens (with insecticides to attract and kill the tsetse flies) deployed annually.
However, Guinea faced significant challenges in its HAT elimination efforts during the Ebola outbreak and COVID-19.
From 2013 to 2015, the Ebola epidemic caused a suspension of medical activities, leading to a resurgence in HAT cases.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic posed further disruptions, but the programme adapted by implementing door-to-door HAT screening to maintain control efforts.
Collaboration with local communities played a critical role throughout these years, ensuring that interventions were culturally acceptable and widely supported.
Advances in diagnostic techniques, treatment delivery, and consistent financial and technical backing from WHO and other partners bolstered the programme’s impact.
As a result, Guinea successfully reduced the number of HAT cases to below the WHO threshold of one case per 10,000 inhabitants in all endemic areas, achieving a major milestone in its fight against this neglected tropical disease.
With Guinea, seven other countries have been validated by WHO for eliminating the gambiense form of HAT: Togo (2020), Benin (2021), Côte d’Ivoire (2021), Uganda (2022), Equatorial Guinea (2022), Ghana (2023) and Chad (2024).
The rhodesiense form of the disease has been eliminated as a public health problem in one country, Rwanda, as validated by WHO in 2022.
