The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence?
Gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) is widely assumed to be 100% pathogenic and fatal. However, reports to the contrary exist, and human trypano-tolerance has been postulated. Furthermore, there is uncertainty about the actual duration of both stage 1 and stage 2 infecti...
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Series: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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doaj-33581a81d63042d6967c92956253c39f2020-11-25T00:07:16ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352008-01-01212e30310.1371/journal.pntd.0000303The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence?Francesco ChecchiJoão A N FilipeMichael P BarrettDaniel ChandramohanGambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) is widely assumed to be 100% pathogenic and fatal. However, reports to the contrary exist, and human trypano-tolerance has been postulated. Furthermore, there is uncertainty about the actual duration of both stage 1 and stage 2 infection, particularly with respect to how long a patient remains infectious. Understanding such basic parameters of HAT infection is essential for optimising control strategies based on case detection. We considered the potential existence and relevance of human trypano-tolerance, and explored the duration of infectiousness, through a review of published evidence on the natural progression of gambiense HAT in the absence of treatment, and biological considerations. Published reports indicate that most gambiense HAT cases are fatal if untreated. Self-resolving and asymptomatic chronic infections probably constitute a minority if they do indeed exist. Chronic carriage, however, deserves further study, as it could seed renewed epidemics after control programmes cease.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2602732?pdf=render |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Francesco Checchi João A N Filipe Michael P Barrett Daniel Chandramohan |
spellingShingle |
Francesco Checchi João A N Filipe Michael P Barrett Daniel Chandramohan The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
author_facet |
Francesco Checchi João A N Filipe Michael P Barrett Daniel Chandramohan |
author_sort |
Francesco Checchi |
title |
The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? |
title_short |
The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? |
title_full |
The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? |
title_fullStr |
The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? |
title_full_unstemmed |
The natural progression of Gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? |
title_sort |
natural progression of gambiense sleeping sickness: what is the evidence? |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
issn |
1935-2727 1935-2735 |
publishDate |
2008-01-01 |
description |
Gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) is widely assumed to be 100% pathogenic and fatal. However, reports to the contrary exist, and human trypano-tolerance has been postulated. Furthermore, there is uncertainty about the actual duration of both stage 1 and stage 2 infection, particularly with respect to how long a patient remains infectious. Understanding such basic parameters of HAT infection is essential for optimising control strategies based on case detection. We considered the potential existence and relevance of human trypano-tolerance, and explored the duration of infectiousness, through a review of published evidence on the natural progression of gambiense HAT in the absence of treatment, and biological considerations. Published reports indicate that most gambiense HAT cases are fatal if untreated. Self-resolving and asymptomatic chronic infections probably constitute a minority if they do indeed exist. Chronic carriage, however, deserves further study, as it could seed renewed epidemics after control programmes cease. |
url |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2602732?pdf=render |
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