Communities living in African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) endemic areas of Zambia use several control strategies to protect their livestock from the devastating effects of trypanosomiasis. Several studies have reported the effectiveness of trypanosomiasis control strategies based on retrospective data. In this study, we assessed incidence rates of AAT in cattle (n = 227) using a prospective cohort study comprising 4 treatment groups, i.e., Diminazene aceturate, Isometamidium chloride, Cyfluthrin pour-on and Cypermethrin treated targets. The study was conducted in Mambwe district in Eastern Zambia between February 2019 and March 2020. The endemic prevalence of AAT for each group was determined using ITS-PCR prior to application of treatments. High endemic trypanosome pre-treatment rates were found in all Groups (Diminazene aceturate (61%), Isometamidium chloride (48%), Cyfluthrin pour-on (87%) and Cypermethrin targets (72%)). The overall apparent prevalence for the Mambwe district was 67% (152/227) and true prevalence at 95%CI was 63–71%. Once treatments were implemented, 12 monthly follow-ups were conducted. The average monthly incidence rates without standardization recorded: Diminazene aceturate (67%) Isometamidium chloride (35%), Cyfluthrin pour-on (55%) and Cypermethrin targets (61%). Incidence rates were standardized considering the endemic level of disease for each Group and the average standardized monthly incidence rate in the Diminazene aceturate Group was 7%; the Isometamidium chloride Group −13%; the Cyfluthrin Group −26%; and the Cypermethrin target Group, −17%. All Groups showed a decrease in incidence of AAT over the period of the study with the Cyfluthrin group showing to be the most effective in reducing AAT incidence in cattle.

Practical diagnostic tools of sufficient sensitivity to detect levels of infection that can lead to transmission have been identified as a critical component of successful disease elimination programmes. In this review we describe the diagnostic tests currently available for six neglected tropical diseases that have been targeted for elimination; assess their performance in the light of the requirements for surveillance, certification of elimination and post-elimination surveillance; consider the unmet need for diagnostic tests for these diseases; and review recent technical developments that could meet these needs.

Despite the fact that eflornithine was considered as the safer drug to treat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and has been freely available since 2001, the difficulties in logistics and cost burden associated with this drug meant that the toxic melarsoprol remained the drug of choice. The World Health Organization responded to the situation by designing a medical kit containing all the materials needed to use eflornithine, and by implementing a training and drugs distribution programme which has allowed a transition to this much safer treatment. The introduction of the combination of nifurtimox and eflornithine (NECT) has accelerated the shift from melarsoprol to the best treatment available, due to reduced dosage and treatment time for eflornithine that has significantly lessened the cost and improved the burden of logistics encountered during treatment and distribution. The decrease in the use of more dangerous but cheaper melarsoprol has meant a rise in the per patient cost of treating HAT. Although NECT is cheaper than eflornithine monotherapy, an unexpected consequence has been a continuing rise in the per patient cost of treating HAT. The ethical decision of shifting to the best available treatment imposes a financial burden on HAT control programmes that might render long-term application unsustainable. These factors call for continuing research to provide new safer and more effective drugs that are simple to administer and cheaper when compared to current drugs.

Human sleeping sickness in Africa, caused by Trypanosoma brucei spp. raises a number of questions. Despite the widespread distribution of the tsetse vectors and animal trypanosomiasis, human disease is only found in discrete foci which periodically give rise to epidemics followed by periods of endemicity A key to unravelling this puzzle is a detailed knowledge of the aetiological agents responsible for different patterns of disease – knowledge that is difficult to achieve using traditional microscopy. The science of molecular epidemiology has developed a range of tools which have enabled us to accurately identify taxonomic groups at all levels (species, subspecies, populations, strains and isolates). Using these tools, we can now investigate the genetic interactions within and between populations of Trypanosoma brucei and gain an understanding of the distinction between human- and nonhuman-infective subspecies. In this review, we discuss the development of these tools, their advantages and disadvantages and describe how they have been used to understand parasite genetic diversity, the origin of epidemics, the role of reservoir hosts and the population structure. Using the specific case of T.b. rhodesiense in Uganda, we illustrate how molecular epidemiology has enabled us to construct a more detailed understanding of the origins, generation and dynamics of sleeping sickness epidemics.

The first step in studying the epidemiology of a disease is the accurate identification of the pathogen. Traditional reliance on morphological identification has given way to the use of molecular methods for the detection and identification of pathogens, greatly improving our understanding of epidemiology. For the African tsetse-transmitted trypanosomes, the growth of PCR methods for identification of trypanosomes has led to increased appreciation of trypanosome genetic diversity and discovery of hitherto unknown trypanosome species, as well as greater knowledge about the number and type of trypanosome infections circulating in mammalian hosts and vectors. Sequence data and phylogenetic analysis have provided quantitative information on the relatedness of different trypanosome species and allowed the new trypanosome genotypes discovered through the use of species identification methods in the field to be accurately placed in the phylogenetic tree.

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the production dynamics, growth characteristics and trends of African trypanosomiasis research (ATREP) literature between 1900 and 1985 through graphical methods.

The data analysed comprised 5139 articles from Tropical Diseases Bulletin and Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Information Quarterly. Counting technique was employed in sorting the articles according to yearly production and respective subject disciplines. The bibliometric ranks of the disciplines were determined based on (1) the total output and (2) the average decennial relative changes (Rc) in publications between 1936 and 1985 using 1936/45 as the base decade.

The results show that the growth is neither linear nor logistic but exponential with an average 39.5-year doubling time. A marked feature is the occurrence of high “epidemic” peaks between 1910–1914 and 1979–1985, a state in which publications were produced at relatively high level probably due to new discoveries or research orientation; and hence capable of quickly infecting a large number of scientists enhancing productivity. There was also a low level of activity from 1914 which lasted for about 22 years.

The foundation disciplines for African Trypanosomiasis Research Programme (ATREP) are entomology and parasitology. Entomology had the highest bibliometric rank followed by parasitology. However, the Refactors indicate that greater attention, as depicted by publication outburst, was given to physiology, immunology, biochemistry, and epidemiology between 1976–1985 than had been before.

In spite of its consistently higher output, entomology exhibited the greatest fluctuating growth trend than all the other components. A possible explanation for this behaviour was ventured.

In the following report no attempt has been made to render uniform the style of the reports of the four speakers. For brief summaries of the subjects which were to be discussed by the absent members of the panel, the reader is referred to the abstracts published by them in the ‘Programme and Abstracts of the Congress’.

The cyclic transmission of African trypanosomes is subject to the successful passage through successive ‘biological barriers’ associated with the ecology and physiology of the host(s) and vector(s), and the ability of the parasite to adjust to the various substrates. This paper is an analytical compilation of factors which play a relevant role in the complex pathway characteristic of trypanosome transmission. These are discussed under the following headings: (a) physiology of the parasite; (b) physiology of the vector; (c) ecology of the vector; (d) feeding habits of the vector; (e) physiology of the vertebrate host; and (f) behaviour of the vertebrate host.