title: Human African trypanosomiasis in a rural community, Democratic Republic of Congo.
abstract: According to the World Health Organization, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) (sleeping sickness) caused the loss of approximately 1.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2002. We describe the effect of HAT during 2000-2002 in Buma, a rural community near Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We used retrospective questionnaire surveys to estimate HAT-related household costs and DALYs. The HAT outbreak in Buma involved 57 patients and affected 47 (21%) households. The cost to each household was equivalent to 5 months' income for that household. The total number of HAT-related DALYs was 2,145, and interventions to control HAT averted 1,408 DALYs. The cost per DALY averted was US $17. Because HAT has a serious economic effect on households and control interventions are cost-effective, considering only global burden of disease rankings for resource allocation could lead to misguided priority setting if applied without caution in HAT-affected countries.
authors.affiliation: Programme National de Lutte contre la Trypanosomiase Humaine Africaine, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lutumba
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Makieya
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meheus
authors.forename: Marleen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boelaert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents