Kenya has been officially validated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, as a public health problem.
This makes Kenya the second country in Africa, after Rwanda, to achieve this milestone and the tenth globally.
HAT is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by the blood parasite Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, transmitted by tsetse flies.
It is fatal within weeks if untreated, as the parasite invades multiple organs, including the brain.
