BMJ  2006;332 (24 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7556.0-d

Screening for trypanosomiasis in Angola

Community screening for human African trypanosomiasis with a card agglutination test alone can lead to a substantial overdiagnosis. Inojosa and colleagues (p 1479) actively screened > 14 000 people using the agglutination test in northern Angola, an area with low prevalence of the disease. Of the 76 people who had a positive reaction in serum titration of 1:8 or more, only 10 had parasites detected in subsequent lymph node fluid or blood tests. Given the toxicity and cost of drugs used to treat trypanosomiasis, the card agglutination test should be used in conjunction with a second confirmatory test to guide treatment, say the authors.

Credit: A CRUMP/TOR/SPL

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Relevant Article

Diagnosing human African trypanosomiasis in Angola using a card agglutination test: observational study of active and passive case finding strategies

Walter O Inojosa, Inacio Augusto, Zeno Bisoffi, Teofile Josenado, Paulo M Abel, August Stich, and Christopher J M Whitty
BMJ 2006 332: 1479. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]