[The slow progress in the control of sleeping sickness].

The century-old controls methods of T. gambiense infection foci have not been changed significantly in the past decennias. The technical improvements are restricted to (1) the introduction of serological diagnosis bringing a marked gain in sensitivity as compared to lymph node palpation, (2) new parasite concentration methods for corroborating the diagnosis and (3) the design of cheap and efficient traps for glossina. None of these methods however, although smooth to perform and plain in design, is easily applied in the field conditions where T. gambiense is transmitted. Progress in the molecular biology of the trypanosome has been booked in the last few years, but it does not yet bring about a change in the active detection and the treatment of the patients and parasite carriers.