Report of the first WHO stakeholders meeting on rhodesiense human African trypanosomiasis
Geneva, 20–22 October 2014
Overview
In April 2013, a WHO Expert Committee on human African trypanosomiasis control and surveillance updated the epidemiological patterns of the disease, diagnostic approaches and new therapeutic regimens. The Committee addressed the recommendations for achieving disease elimination and conversely to g-HAT, being rhodesiense HAT (r-HAT) – a zoonosis with both domestic and wild hosts – its elimination as total interruption of transmission was therefore not considered technically feasible at that time. Elimination of r-HAT requires a tailored, multisectoral approach not necessarily the same as that developed for g-HAT.
In view of this situation, WHO convened two separate meetings of stakeholders: one related to g-HAT and the other to r-HAT. In March 2014, WHO held the first stakeholders meeting on the elimination of g-HAT, which was complemented in October 2014 by this meeting of the main stakeholders working to fight r-HAT. This meeting updated the status of r-HAT transmission at the country level and the challenges of health ministries in tackling the disease. The meeting was intended to reinforce the cohesion of stakeholders and the spirit of cooperation through the different sectors concerned with the prevention and control of r-HAT.
The three objectives of the meeting were:
- To update the current status of the disease transmission, country capacities and plans for tackling the disease.
- To understand the epidemiology including disease distribution and risk, the models for estimating under-detection, the geographical variations of in clinical presentation, the roles of domestic and wild animal reservoirs and the subsequent different transmission patterns and control approaches, including vector control.
- To update current research and development efforts for improving diagnostic and treatment tools.
- To define the goals for achieving the control of r-HAT, the need for a multisectoral approach and to discuss the strategy for controlling r-HAT and the coordination mechanisms.