| Popis: |
In Niger, Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) was under control as early as the 1950s and the last case of native HAT known in the literature was detected in 1972. In 2013, WHO demonstrated its willingness to eliminate the disease as a public health problem by 2020, it was therefore imperative to update the situation of HAT in Niger. However, in the absence of recent epidemiological data, where should the medical teams be directed? The method of Identification of Villages at Risk (IVR) of HAT allows to establish, on the basis of criteria related to the history of the disease and the current geographical conditions, a list of villages at risk. These localities are then visited by a small team that collects epidemiological, geographical and entomological data, which are then structured in a geo-referenced database that is queried. The villages most likely to host a case of HAT are then proposed for a survey. In 2015, 28 localities identified as at risk were visited by the light team, and of the 384 rapid Diagnostic Tests (TDR) carried out, 12 were positive but none responded positively to the specific immune trypanolysis test, discarding the diagnosis of HAT. The South of Niger is still home to a few well-preserved forest-galleries which are tsetse-friendly, exposing the riparian populations to their sting. Eleven villages were finally proposed for exhaustive medical exploration. The contact between human and tsetse fly must be restricted to a very specific population, which conducts activities within or outside the W National Park. The situation of HAT in Niger needs to be clarified in order to implement the appropriate control strategies to be put in place for its elimination |
