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Lisette Kohagne Tongué, Paulette Mengue M’eyi, Raceline Gounoue Kamkuimo, Dramane Kaba, Francis J Louis, Rémy Mimpfoundi. Transmission of human African trypanosomiasis in the Komo-Mondah focus, Gabon. The Pan African Medical Journal. 2011;8:36 Key words: Epidemiology, entomology, transmission, trypanosomiasis, Glossina, Gabon Permanent link: http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/8/36/full Received: 26/01/2011 - Accepted: 29/03/2011 - Published: 01/04/2011 © Lisette Kohagne Tongué et al. The Pan African Medical Journal - ISSN 1937-8688. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Transmission of human African trypanosomiasis in the Komo-Mondah focus, Gabon
Lisette Kohagne Tongué1,&, Paulette Mengue M’eyi2, Raceline Gounoue Kamkuimo3, Dramane Kaba4, Francis J Louis1, Rémy Mimpfoundi3
1Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les endémies en Afrique centrale (OCEAC), BP 15665, Yaoundé, Cameroun, 2Programme national de lute contre la trypanosomiase humaine du Gabon, BP 940, Libreville, Gabon, 3Laboratoire de Biologie Générale, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Yaoundé I, BP 812, Yaoundé, Cameroun, 4Institut Pierre Richet/Institut national de Santé Publique, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
&Corresponding author
Lisette Kohagne Tongué, Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les endémies en Afrique centrale (OCEAC), BP 15665, Yaoundé, Cameroun
Knowledge about transmission of sleeping sickness in a given focus is of a great importance since it governs the efficacy and the cost-effectiveness of control strategy. The Komo-Mondah focus is the most endemic sleeping sickness focus of Gabon. This focus has hardly been investigated and available publications are more than thirty years old. In order to update transmission features of sleeping sickness in that focus, we have conducted epidemiological and entomological surveys in March-April 2008.
Epidemiological investigation relied on a case-control study using a quantitative and qualitative methodology (a structured questionnaire). Cases were affected people (parasitological positive) diagnosed by the national control program from 2004 to 2007, controls were those found disease-free after clinical examination and biological tests in the same period. They were asked to respond to a standard questionnaire concerning their activities after having signed a written consent. An unvaried analysis was first performed and then a multivariate analysis using the conditional logistic regression for matching method. Traps were then set out for four days in areas where people were working. Tsetse flies captured were identified and dissected; their density and human-fly contact points were determined.
A risk of infection was associated with fishing activities (Odds-ratio: 5.69; CI95%: 3.38-9.57). Three species of Glossina were captured: Glossina palpalis palpalis, Glossina fuscipes fuscipes and G. Caliginea. Human-fly contact points were mainly landing stages.
A combined strategy of case-detection and vector control targeted at landing stages should be efficient against the disease.
