[Monitoring human African trypanosomiasis in Central Africa in 2001 and cartography: results and perspectives].

Cases of human African trypanosomiasis are distributed in changing geographical "outbreak areas" that can be visualized over time and space. Because of these variations in distribution, cartography and spatial analysis provide powerful tools for planning surveillance and control strategies. In 1996, the WHO in collaboration with the 15 most endemic countries in Central Africa undertook a program to develop a standardized inter-regional map of trypanosomiasis. This article provides a brief overview of the value of geomatic tools in public health followed by a description of the WHO program and its preliminary results. Also presented in this article is the Trypinfo site being development on the internet to increase the surveillance response-time and improve the feedback system.