title: Towards Point-of-Care Diagnostic and Staging Tools for Human African Trypanosomiaisis.
abstract: Human African trypanosomiasis is a debilitating disease prevalent in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Control of this disease almost exclusively relies on chemotherapy that should be driven by accurate diagnosis, given the unacceptable toxicity of the few available drugs. Unfortunately, the available diagnostics are characterised by low sensitivities due to the inherent low parasitaemia in natural infections. Demonstration of the trypanosomes in body fluids, which is a prerequisite before treatment, often follows complex algorithms. In this paper, we review the available diagnostics and explore recent advances towards development of novel point-of-care diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Enock
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matovu
authors.forename: Anne Juliet
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kazibwe
authors.forename: Claire Mack
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mugasa
authors.forename: Joseph Mathu
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ndungu
authors.forename: Zablon Kithingi
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Njiru