An Experience with an Outbreak of Kala-azar in a Rural Area of Bangladesh

Authors

  • Abdur Rahim Resident Physician, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Dhaka
  • Md. Moniruzzaman OSD, DGHS, Dhaka
  • Mostofa Kamal Junior consultant of Medicine, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Dhaka
  • Shah Golam Nabi Vice- Principal, Mugda Medical College, Dhaka
  • Supriya Sarkar Deputy Program Manager, Hospital Services, DGHS, Dhaka
  • Md. Mujibur Rahman Professor, Department of Medicine, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/jom.v20i1.38817

Keywords:

Kala-azar, Visceral leishmaniasis, PKDL, rK-39 test.

Abstract

Background: A large number of kala-azar cases from a particular village in Debigonj upazila of Panchaghar, a remote district of Bangladesh, led us to carry out the study of the situation.

Materials & methods: This cross-sectional study was done among clinically screened people at the health camp in two days in Dararhat in Debigonj upazila of Panchaghar.

Results: Around 700 people were screened at the health camp and 51 (7.2%) were suspected to have either Kala-azar or related disorders where 42 (82%) were rk-39 test positive. The disease was more prevalent among adult (59.6%) and children (23.8%) under the age of 10 years. However, there was no clear linear relationship between the prevalence of the disease and age group. Kala-azar occurred in both male and female, and its prevalence did not correlate significantly with income. A history of fever (73.8%) and splenomegaly (45.2%) was noted in most of the kala-azar cases. A significant number of PKDL (26.2%) cases were also found in that area.

Conclusions: Since there are a significant proportion of PKDL cases, eradication will be very tough unless the health authority take adequate measure to identify and treat them properly.

J MEDICINE JUL 2019; 20 (1) : 25-28

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Published

2019-01-01

How to Cite

Rahim, A., Moniruzzaman, M., Kamal, M., Nabi, S. G., Sarkar, S., & Rahman, M. M. (2019). An Experience with an Outbreak of Kala-azar in a Rural Area of Bangladesh. Journal of Medicine, 20(1), 25–28. https://doi.org/10.3329/jom.v20i1.38817

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Original Articles

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