Diagnostic Accuracy of PCR in gambiense Sleeping Sickness Diagnosis, Staging and Post-Treatment Follow-Up: A 2-year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

For T.b. gambiense sleeping sickness diagnosis and staging, PCR performed better than, or similar to, the current parasite detection techniques but it cannot be used for post-treatment follow-up. Continued PCR positivity in one out of five cured patients points to persistence of living or dead parasites or their DNA after successful treatment and may necessitate the revision of some paradigms about the pathophysiology of sleeping sickness.