# Science Has Fun: Is the End of Sleeping Sickness in Sight?
Welcome to the program co-produced by the University of Montpellier andDivergence-FM, which takes you on a tour of the laboratories of the Muse archipelago. This week we’re heading to Côte d’Ivoire, where the government and the WHO have just officially confirmed the elimination of African human trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, as a public health problem. We’ll be discussing this with Vincent Jamonneau, a parasitologist atthe IRD on the INTERTRYP team and co-author of an article published last February in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Today we’re heading to Côte d’Ivoire, where some big, good news awaits us: the WHO has just officially confirmed the elimination of African human trypanosomiasis as a public health problem. I can almost hear you saying, “Big news, big news, sure! But what is African human trypanosomiasis?” You may not realize it, but you’re actually familiar with this disease—in fact, you know it quite well… If I mention sleeping sickness and its equally famous vector, the tsetse fly, things become clearer, don’t they?
TrypaNo! Program
This disease, endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, is caused by a parasite identified in the early 20th century: Bruce’s trypanosome, named after its discoverer, Sir David Bruce. A parasite responsible for three major epidemics in the 20th century that claimed the lives of several million people. While trypanosomiasis has become less prevalent in recent decades, it has not disappeared and continues to infect several hundred people each year in Africa.
In Africa, and specifically in Côte d’Ivoire, where the national program to eliminate the disease has reduced the number of infections to just 9 since 2015. This remarkable achievement was made possible thanks to research support, particularly the long-standing partnership betweenthe Pierre Richet Institute in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Intertryp team—comprising researchers from IRD and CIRAD—and their program, TrypaNO! We discuss this with Vincent Jamonneau, our guest today. He is a parasitologist at IRD, a member of the Intertryp team, and co-authorof a paper published last February in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
For more information:
- A video produced by the IRD and the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene of Côte d’Ivoire on the fight against sleeping sickness.
- An article by Vincent Jamonneau published on The Conversation website
Science is Fun—you’ve got the ticket, let’s go!
Production: University of Montpellier – Divergence FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: Adeline Flo’ch
Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9
