User:Dgill952/sandbox

Introduction: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for the majority of African trypanosomiasis, because humans are broadly regarded as the main reservoir needed for the transmission cycle, while Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense is mainly zoonotic, with the occasional human infection. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most affected country in the world, accounting for 75% of the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense cases.

Epidemiology: The epidemiology of African Trypanosomiasis is dependent on the interaction of the parasite (trypanosome) with the tsetse flies (vector), as well as the host (human for Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, and animals for Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense). In relation to these interactions, transmission of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is confined spatially in areas in Sub- Saharan Africa, particulary in rural areas. Therefore, the risk of contracting African Trypanosomiasis is dependent on coming in contact with an infected tsetse fly.

Epidemiology:From 2010-2014, there was an estimated 55 million people at risk for gambiense African Trypanosomiasis and over 6 million people at risk for rhodesiense African Trypanosomiasis. In 2014, the World Health Organization reported 3,797 cases of Human African Trypanosomiasis when the predicted number of cases were to be 5,000. The number of total reported cases in 2014 is an 86% reduction to the total number of cases reported in 2000. Current research shows that the number of people being affected by the disease has declined. At this rate, sleeping sickness elimination is a possibility. The World Health Organization plans to eradicate sleeping sickness by the year 2020.

References

Franco, J. R., Simarro, P. P., Diarra, A., & Jannin, J. G. (2014). Epidemiology of human African trypanosomiasis. Clinical Epidemiology, 6, 257-275.

Franco, J. A. R., Cecchi, G., Priotto, G., Paone, M., Diarra, A., Grout, L.,. . . Argaw, D. (2017). Monitoring the elimination of human African trypanosomiasis: Update to 2014. Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(5), 26. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005585