Trypa-NO! contributes to the elimination of gambiense human African trypanosomiasis by combining tsetse control with “screen, diagnose and treat” using innovative tools and strategies

Gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (g-HAT) is the chronic form of sleeping sickness caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in West and Central Africa, while Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense causes an acute form in eastern Africa. g-HAT is targeted for elimination as a public health problem by 2020 and 0 transmission by 2030 [1,2]. Control of g-HAT is largely based on identification and treatment of infected individuals, supplemented by control of the tsetse fly vectors [3]. There has been growing evidence that when both tsetse control and case identification activities are carried out simultaneously in the same geographies, elimination of the disease is accelerated [4–6]. Here, we describe how the Trypa-NO! Partnership is using novel and classical tools to drive g-HAT elimination in an integrated approach, progress made, lessons learnt, and future directions.