Ghana has been declared free from the Gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis, popularly known as sleeping sickness. This announcement was made last night, 23rd January, 2023, by the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on his verified twitter handle.
My congratulations to the government, health workers and communities in #Ghana for eliminating gambiense Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). This is an historic achievement, proving once again that with dedication and teamwork we can #BeatNTDs.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 23, 2023
By this announcement, Ghana becomes the second country in Africa to eliminate this ancient infectious disease.
The Human African trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic disease of humans and animals of similar aetiology and epidemiology. It is caused by parasites of genus Trypanosoma and transmitted by infected tsetse flies and is endemic in 36 sub-Saharan African countries where there are tsetse flies that transmit the disease. Without treatment, the disease is considered fatal.
The people most exposed to the tsetse fly and to the disease live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry or hunting.
The Ghana Health Service may make the official announcement in the coming days.
