News Highlights:
Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, chairs a high-level meeting with State Governments to review the Elimination of Kala-Azar from the country by 2023.
Key Takeaway:
- India is committed to eliminating Kala Azar from the country by 2023
- 632 (99.8%) endemic blocks have already achieved elimination status (<1 case/10,000).
- Only one block (Littipara) of Pakur district, Jharkhand, is in the endemic category (1.23 cases/10,000 population).
Kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis):
- About:
- Kala-azar is a slow-advancing and naturally occurring disease that is caused by a protozoan parasite of the Leishmania genus.
- Kala-azar is endemic to the Indian subcontinent in 119 districts in four countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal).
- Neglected tropical diseases are a diverse group of infectious diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries.
- Visceral leishmaniasis, commonly known as Kala-azar in India, is fatal in over 95% of the cases if left untreated.
- In India, the only parasite that causes this disease is Leishmania donovani.
- Types of leishmaniasis:
- Visceral leishmaniasis affects multiple organs and is the most serious form of the disease.
- Cutaneous leishmaniasis causes skin sores and is the most common form.
- Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis causes skin and mucosal lesions.
- Transmission:
- Leishmania parasites are transmitted through the bites of infected female phlebotomine sandflies, which feed on blood to produce eggs.
- Some 70 animal species, including humans, have been found as natural reservoir hosts of Leishmania parasites.
- Kala-Azar Symptoms:
- Loss of interest and desire for everything, pale appearance, loss of weight with weakness.
- Abnormal enlargement of the spleen, usually nontender and soft.
- Dry skin and scaly skin of hands, abdomen, feet and face give the Indian name Kala-azar, which means ‘Black Fever’.
- Anaemia(a condition of deficiency of haemoglobin or red cells in the blood) progresses rapidly.
- Anaemia, along with emaciation(weakness), creates a typical appearance of the affected person.
- Prevention and Control:
- Prevention and control of leishmaniasis require a combination of intervention strategies.
- It is a treatable and curable disease, “which requires an immunocompetent system because medicines will not get rid of the parasite from the body, thus the risk of relapse if immunosuppression occurs”.
- Effective disease surveillance is essential to promptly monitor and act during epidemics and situations with high case fatality rates under treatment.
Diagnosis:
- Clinical:
- A condition of fever lasting for more than two weeks and not responding to antibiotics and antimalarials.
- Clinical laboratory searches may include spreading leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and anaemia.
- Laboratory:
- Serology tests: Different tests are available for diagnosing Kala-azar. The most used tests are based on relative sensitivity, while operational feasibility involves the Direct Agglutination Test (DAT), ELISA and rk39 dipstick.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: PIB