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Introduction Human African tryanosomiasis remains a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 60 million people are exposed daily to infecting tsetse fly bites. In 1998 a total of [...], Objective To evaluate the performance of serological tests using dried blood on filter-papers (micro-card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis (micro-CATT)) performed under field and laboratory conditions and using whole blood ((CATT/T.b. gambiense) (wb-CATT) and latex agglutination (LATEX/T.b. gambiense) (wb-LATEX)) for the serodiagnosis and surveillance of human African trypanosomiasis in West and Central Africa. Methods We evaluated the micro-CATT, wb-CATT and wb-LATEX methods in Cote d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic by screening 940 people. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each serological test; only patients with the confirmed presence of trypanosomes in the blood or lymph aspirate were considered true positives. Positive and negative predictive values were also calculated. Findings Each of the tests showed a lower sensitivity in the Central African Republic than in Cote d'Ivoire. Conclusion The results confirmed the efficiency of the classic wb-CATT to detect sleeping sickness patients. The micro-CATT method can be used for human African trypanosomiasis surveillance if the test is performed on the same day as the blood collection, or if samples are stored at 4°C. Otherwise, micro-CATT can be used when absolute sensitivity is not required, wb-LATEX should only be used for high-specificity screening. Key words Agglutination tests; Sensitivity and specificity; Predictive value of tests, Trypanosomiasis, African/diagnosis; Comparative study; Cote d'Ivoire; Central African Republic (source: MeSH, NLM). Mots cles Reaction agglutination; Sensibilite et specificite (Epidemiologie); Valeur predictive tests; Trypanosomiase africaine/ diagnostic; Etude comparative; Cote d'Ivoire; Republic centrafricaine (source: MeSH, INSERM). Palabras clave Tests de aglutinacion; Sensibilidad y especificidad; Valor predictivo de los tests; Tripanosomiasis africana/diagnostico; Estudio comparativo; Cote d'Ivoire; Republica Centroafricana (fuente: DeCS, BIREME).