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A neglected disease of humans: a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Bakool, Somalia.

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dc.contributor Médecins sans Frontières, Dupréstraat 94, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium.
dc.creator Marlet, M V L
dc.creator Wuillaume, F
dc.creator Jacquet, D
dc.creator Quispe, K W
dc.creator Dujardin, J C
dc.creator Boelaert, M
dc.date 2008-02-07T16:21:25Z
dc.date.accessioned 2017-01-31T07:09:34Z
dc.date.available 2017-01-31T07:09:34Z
dc.identifier A neglected disease of humans: a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Bakool, Somalia., 97 (6):667-71 Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg.
dc.identifier 0035-9203
dc.identifier 16117959
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10144/17719
dc.identifier http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/handle/10144/17719
dc.identifier Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
dc.identifier.uri http://dspace.mediu.edu.my:8181/xmlui/handle/10144/17719
dc.description Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was observed in children in Bakool region, Somalia, an area where VL has not been reported before. We describe the extent of the problem in this war- and famine-stricken area. A retrospective analysis was done of all cases admitted to a VL treatment centre between July 2000 and August 2001. Patients with longstanding fever, splenomegaly and a positive direct agglutination test (DAT; titre > 1:3200) were treated as suspected VL cases. A rapid epidemiological and entomological assessment was performed in the area. Species identification was attempted from blood samples by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of cysteine proteinase B genes. In 1 year, 230 serologically-positive cases were diagnosed as VL, and response to therapy was good in 91.6% of the 225 treated with sodium stibogluconate. Parasitological confirmation was attempted and obtained in 2 cases. Parasites were found to be most similar to Sudanese and Ethiopian reference strains of the Leishmania donovani complex. In a serological survey of 161 healthy displaced persons, 15% were positive by the leishmanin skin test and 3 (2%) were positive by the DAT. The sandfly captures showed Phlebotomus martini and P. vansomerenae. VL seems to be a longstanding and serious health problem in Bakool region. Food insecurity might have contributed to the emergence and detection of VL in this area.
dc.language en
dc.publisher Elsevier
dc.relation http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00359203
dc.rights Archived on this site with the kind permission of Elsevier Ltd. and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, http://www.rstmh.org/transactions.asp
dc.title A neglected disease of humans: a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Bakool, Somalia.


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