Understanding the Role of the Diagnostic 'Reflex' in the Elimination of Human African Trypanosomiasis.

ABSTRACT: To successfully eliminate human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), healthcare workers (HCWs) must maintain their diagnostic acuity to identify cases as the disease becomes rarer. HAT experts refer to this concept as a 'reflex' which incorporates the idea that diagnostic expertise, particularly skills involved in recognising which patients should be tested, comes from embodied knowledge, accrued through practice. We investigated diagnostic pathways in the detection of 32 symptomatic HAT patients in South Sudan and found that this 'reflex' was not confined to HCWs. Indeed, lay people suggested patients test for HAT in more than half of cases using similar practices to HCWs, highlighting the importance of the expertise present in disease-affected communities. Three typologies of diagnostic practi

SUBMITTER: Palmer JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7345297 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature