Sustainable Elimination (Zero Cases) of Sleeping Sickness: How Far Are We from Achieving This Goal?

Akazue, Pearl Ihuoma; Ebiloma, Godwin U.; Ajibola, Olumide; Isaac, Clement; Onyekwelu, Kenechukwu Chibuike; Ezeh, Charles Ogbonna; Eze, Anthonius A.

doi:10.3390/pathogens8030135

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 113 publications

(118 reference statements)

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“…African trypanosomiasis is a disease caused by certain species of the protozoan parasite called trypanosomes and there are two forms of African trypanosomiasis: the human form of the disease known as Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) and the animal form of the disease (AAT). Worldwide, there has been a significant decrease in the number of reported cases of HAT [ 33 ] and in Ghana, the disease is considered to be near elimination as reports indicate that no incidence has been recorded since 2014 [ 34 ]. Despite this apparent progress in the control of HAT, there is a risk of reoccurrence of endemicity as was observed two decades ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antischistosomal, antionchocercal and antitrypanosomal potentials of some Ghanaian traditional medicines and their constituents

et al. 2020

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Background Ghana is endemic for some neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. The major intervention for these diseases is mass drug administration of a few repeatedly recycled drugs which is a cause for major concern due to reduced efficacy of the drugs and the emergence of drug resistance. Evidently, new treatments are needed urgently. Medicinal plants, on the other hand, have a reputable history as important sources of potent therapeutic agents in the treatment of various diseases among African populations, Ghana inclusively, and provide very useful starting points for the discovery of much-needed new or alternative drugs. Methodology/Principal findings In this study, extracts of fifteen traditional medicines used for treating various NTDs in local communities were screened in vitro for efficacy against schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis and African trypanosomiasis. Two extracts, NTD-B4-DCM and NTD-B7-DCM, prepared from traditional medicines used to treat schistosomiasis, displayed the highest activity (IC50 = 30.5 μg/mL and 30.8 μg/mL, respectively) against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. NTD-B2-DCM, also obtained from an antischistosomal remedy, was the most active against female and male adult Onchocera ochengi worms (IC50 = 76.2 μg/mL and 76.7 μg/mL, respectively). Antitrypanosomal assay of the extracts against Trypanosoma brucei brucei gave the most promising results (IC50 = 5.63 μg/mL to 18.71 μg/mL). Incidentally, NTD-B4-DCM and NTD-B2-DCM, also exhibited the greatest antitrypanosomal activities (IC50 = 5.63 μg/mL and 7.12 μg/mL, respectively). Following the favourable outcome of the antitrypanosomal screening, this assay was selected for bioactivity-guided fractionation. NTD-B4-DCM, the most active extract, was fractionated and subsequent isolation of bioactive constituents led to an eupatoriochromene-rich oil (42.6%) which was 1.3-fold (IC50 <0.0977 μg/mL) more active than the standard antitrypanosomal drug, diminazene aceturate (IC50 = 0.13 μg/mL). Conclusion/Significance These findings justify the use of traditional medicines and demonstrate their prospects towards NTDs drug discovery.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antischistosomal, antionchocercal and antitrypanosomal potentials of some Ghanaian traditional medicines and their constituents

et al. 2020

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“…The WHO's goal for 2020 was to eliminate HAT as a public health problem; its indicator was fixed as being the presentation of less than 2000 cases for 2020 [73]. This objective has already been achieved, giving rise to a new objective for 2030, i.e., the total elimination of T. brucei gambiense transmission to achieve 0 cases [75].…”

Section: Human African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as Point-of-Care Diagnosis for Neglected Parasitic Infections

Avendaño

Patarroyo

2020

IJMS

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has placed twenty diseases into a group known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), twelve of them being parasitic diseases: Chagas’ disease, cysticercosis/taeniasis, echinococcosis, food-borne trematodiasis, human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis (river blindness), schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis (ascariasis, hookworm, trichuriasis), guinea-worm and scabies. Such diseases affect millions of people in developing countries where one of the main problems concerning the control of these diseases is diagnosis-based due to the most affected areas usually being far from laboratories having suitable infrastructure and/or being equipped with sophisticated equipment. Advances have been made during the last two decades regarding standardising and introducing techniques enabling diagnoses to be made in remote places, i.e., the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique. This technique’s advantages include being able to perform it using simple equipment, diagnosis made directly in the field, low cost of each test and the technique’s high specificity. Using this technique could thus contribute toward neglected parasite infection (NPI) control and eradication programmes. This review describes the advances made to date regarding LAMP tests, as it has been found that even though several studies have been conducted concerning most NPI, information is scarce for others.

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“…Gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a parasitic tropical infectious disease whose main vector of transmission is the tsetse fly. It is one of the 17 neglected tropical diseases that the World Health Organisation (WHO) put on its 2012 agenda of diseases to be eliminated as a public health problem by 2020, with the additional target of stopping all HAT transmissions by 2030 [1][2][3][4]. The abundant literature that has accompanied HAT elimination efforts is primarily focussed on technological innovations, including the development of new drugs, tests, and tools for vector control [4][5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whose Elimination? Frontline Workers’ Perspectives on the Elimination of the Human African Trypanosomiasis and Its Anticipated Consequences

2020

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While academic literature has paid careful attention to the technological efforts―drugs, tests, and tools for vector control―deployed to eliminate Gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), the human resources and health systems dimensions of elimination are less documented. This paper analyses the perspectives and experiences of frontline nurses, technicians, and coordinators who work for the HAT programme in the former province of Bandundu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the epidemic’s very heart. The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews conducted with frontline workers in February 2018. The results highlight distinctive HAT careers as well as social elevation through specialised work. Frontline workers are concerned about changes in active screening strategies and the continued existence of the vector, which lead them to question the possibility of imminent elimination. Managers seem to anticipate a post-HAT situation and prepare for the employment of their staff; most workers see their future relatively confidently, as re-allocated to non-vertical units. The findings suggest concrete pathways for improving the effectiveness of elimination efforts: improving active screening through renewed engagements with local leaders, conceptualising horizontal integration in terms of human resources mobility, and investing more in detection and treatment activities (besides innovation).

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Sustainable Elimination (Zero Cases) of Sleeping Sickness: How Far Are We from Achieving This Goal?

Cited by 12 publications

References 113 publications

Antischistosomal, antionchocercal and antitrypanosomal potentials of some Ghanaian traditional medicines and their constituents

Antischistosomal, antionchocercal and antitrypanosomal potentials of some Ghanaian traditional medicines and their constituents

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as Point-of-Care Diagnosis for Neglected Parasitic Infections

Whose Elimination? Frontline Workers’ Perspectives on the Elimination of the Human African Trypanosomiasis and Its Anticipated Consequences

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