Human African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness): Kenya Becomes the Tenth Country to Eliminate the Disease

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Arab Sea - Agencies The World Health Organization has officially announced its recognition of the elimination of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, in Kenya, confirming that it is no longer a public health problem, making it the tenth country in Africa to achieve this historic milestone. The recognition came on June 16, 2025, and the Kenyan authorities received the disease elimination certificate during a national celebration in Nairobi on August 8, in the presence of government officials and international public health partners. What is sleeping sickness? Sleeping sickness is a fatal parasitic disease if left untreated, caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, and transmitted to humans through the bites of infected tsetse flies after feeding on the blood of infected people or animals. The disease is endemic in specific areas of East and Southern Africa, and particularly affects rural communities that depend on agriculture, hunting, or livestock farming. If treatment is neglected, the parasites penetrate the central nervous system, causing disturbances in behavior, movement, and sleep, and often leading to death within weeks. In Kenya, the disease posed a significant threat in areas near nature reserves such as the Masai Mara, but thanks to decades of intensive efforts, cases have gradually decreased until local infections stopped since 2009, and the last imported case was recorded in 2012. Interventions included the establishment of 12 monitoring centers in 6 high-risk counties, the implementation of extensive tsetse fly control campaigns, and improved access to diagnosis and treatment. Health workers were also trained on the latest methods for early detection of the disease. The Kenyan Minister of Health, Aden Duale, described the achievement as "the beginning of a new phase in the fight against diseases," praising the concerted national efforts, the empowerment of health workers, and investment in smart care systems. For his part, the Director-General of Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth, stressed the need to maintain gains through continuous monitoring and community awareness. The Ministry of Health announced a five-year follow-up plan that includes continued tsetse fly control and training of health workers on early detection of any potential infections. This achievement joins a list of similar successes achieved by other African countries, including Togo, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, Ghana, Chad, Cameroon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. This represents significant progress in the path to eliminating neglected tropical diseases that used to claim thousands of lives annually. The World Health Organization had previously announced that 9 African countries had managed to eliminate "sleeping sickness," namely: Togo in 2020, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire in 2021, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea in 2022, then Ghana in 2023, and Chad in 2024, along with Cameroon and Congo.