CONAKRY -- Guinea's Public Health Minister Edouard Gnakoye Lamah reported on Tuesday that more than three million people residing along the country's coastline are under threat from trypanosomiasis, also known as "sleeping sickness." This illness is commonly found in intertropical regions and poses a serious health risk in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in coastal nations like Guinea, Liberia and Gambia. Representatives from these countries held a meeting on Tuesday in Conakry to talk about the different strategies that can be used to combat the disease, come up with prospects with regard to the new approaches for eradicating it, and provide an evaluation of the current situation. According to the public health minister of Guinea, his nation is still the hardest-hit by the disease, with its re-appearance in areas that have been previously affected and its emergence in new locations. The disease is transmitted to humans via the tsetse fly and it is common among impoverished families living along river banks or in mangroves. Trypanosomiasis is known to cause mental disorder or paralysis.