Trypanosomiasis control

In July 2000, Heads of State of the 36th Session of the Organisation for Af rican Unity signed a potentially important declaration on African trypanoso miasis, urging member states "to act collectively to rise to the challenge of eliminating the problem through concerted efforts in mobilising the nece ssary human, financial and material resources required to render Africa tse tse-free within the shortest time possible". To many, such an ambitious dre am is received with same scepticism, recalling the doubts that surrounded a similar declaration signed in Brasilia in 1991, which paved the way for th e Southern Cone Initiative against American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease ). True, the two diseases are quite different. But the operational challeng es are quite similar, and there are sufficient biological parallels to sugg est that the Latin American experience in controlling Chagas disease may pr ovide a useful model for the control of African trypanosomiasis. (C) 2001 P ublished by Elsevier Science Ltd. on behalf of the Australian Society for P arasitology Inc.