Modeling surveillance networks for Human African Trypanosomiasis control in Northern Uganda

The multiple forms of Human African Trypanosomiasis (human T.b. gambiense and zoonotic T.b. rhodesiense, as well as the several strains which cause disease in animals) that occur in Uganda make coordinating the scientific and developmental, human and animal, social and economic systems influencing their control particularly complex. Uganda is one of the only countries in Africa that has experienced largescale, debilitating outbreaks of HAT, and co-ordinated major control programmes. A major challenge to One Health Surveillance is poor integration of services, sectors and disciplines toward achieving shared goals. Effective OHS relies on cross-sector collaboration and communication, however this process is hampered by complex social, political, and economic networks spanning across the entire surveillance and control system from the point of care up to policy level. To date, these networks and their influence in shaping the epidemiological landscape of the disease and its control have yet to be described in detail.