Organizing an active screening campaign for human African trypanosomiasis due to Trypanosoma brucei gambiense

Organization of an active screening program for human African trypanosomiasis in an outbreak area is subject to strict guidelines that must take into account the size of the population, the specificity and sensitivity of the diagnostic techniques used, and the cost of screening. Numerous parameters can affect the outcome including accessibility of the outbreak area (road conditions, rainy season); awareness of village populations and of local administrative, traditional, and religious personalities; quality of local health-care facilities and personnel; possibility of referring patients to a health care institution able to provide treatment, etc. For these reasons the cost of screening programs can be high in terms of human, physical, and financial resources. Careful planning and preparation is necessary to ensure worthwhile results. The model described in this article allows screening of 300 to 600 persons a day in areas in which the endemic disease prevalence is higher than 1%. A variant for areas with lower endemicity allows screening of up to 1500 persons a day.