CONGO: Nearly half the provinces affected by trypanosomiasis sleeping sickness
Pastor Dale Morgan
CONGO: Nearly half the provinces affected by trypanosomiasis sleeping
sickness*
26 Sep 2007 15:18:03 GMT
Source: IRIN
BRAZZAVILLE, 26 September 2007 (IRIN) - Because of the civil wars that
have ravaged the Republic of Congo over the past few years, monitoring
of trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, was considered a low priority.
There has, however, been a resurgence in prevalence rates, affecting
five of the country's 11 districts. "At the end of the 1997 civil war,
the sleeping sickness situation was almost catastrophic. We are
continuing to register cases in certain regions of the country," said
Stéphane Ngampo, head of the national programme to combat
trypanosomiasis in the Ministry of Health, Social Affairs and the
Family. The disease had been virtually wiped out in colonial times
(before the Sixties), he said. "In colonial times the strategies
employed to overcome trypanosomiasis were successful. The number of
people suffering from the disease could be counted on the fingers of one
hand," Ngampo added.
"But the system was not maintained. The disease still exists in Congo
and is a real public health problem," he said.
Prevalence rates
In the Congo the prevalence of sleeping sickness is 1-3 percent,
depending on the region. It is estimated that 300-400 cases appear each
year.
In 2006, about 300 sick people were sent abroad for treatment, against
101 in the first six months of 2007. According to official statistics,
the mortality rate due to sleeping sickness is barely more than 2 percent.
About 40 residents of Ngabé and Mpouya, localities in the northern part
of Pool and Plateaux (in the centre) respectively, have the disease.
"All these people are being treated. We cannot abandon them because
sleeping sickness kills," Henri Joseph Parra, director-general of the
national public health laboratory, said.
The vector agent is the tse-tse fly, which is present along the River
Congo but also in swampy zones. "Every year it is difficult for us to
visit all the places where the disease is rampant," said Ngampo, because
of a lack of transport but also basic material for fundamental research.
The disease is most prevalent in five of Congo's 11 departments: Niari,
Bouenza (in the southwest), Pool (in the south), Plateaux (in the
centre) and Cuvette (in the north). "One could compare the disease to
malaria in terms of the mode of transmission. The tse-tse fly is not
restricted by borders and bites everyone – children, adults, even
pregnant women," Parra said.
Research, treatment Trypanosomiasis is considered to be most endemic in
five countries in Africa – the Congo, the DRC, Angola, Sudan and Uganda.
"The government is doing everything it can to block the path of
trypanosomiasis. But, on the ground, politics is translated into
inadequacy. We must do more lobbying and seeking the help of other
partners," Ngampo said. Treatment is provided free by the UN World
Health Organisation. "We have the necessary treatments, but because they
are difficult to handle they need to be dealt with by specialists,"
Ngampo said. Depending on the stage of the evolution of the disease, a
sick person could be hospitalised and receive an average of four drips a
day over a 14-day period.
"Our problem today is to bring treatment as close as possible to those
who are sick," Ngampo said.