Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis burden at the village level in selected high visceral leishmaniasis endemic upazilas in Bangladesh.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

As post kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) threatens the success of the Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) elimination initiative, we aimed to investigate the PKDL burden, including an active search for PKDL in leprosy-negative skin lesion cases. We also investigated their health-seeking behavior and perceived level of stigma.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional survey among inhabitants in the VL-endemic villages of the five most VL-endemic upazilas. VL experts trained medical officers in Upazila Health Complexes (UHCs) and leprosy facilities in PKDL management. Frontline workers conducted house-to-house surveys, referring PKDL suspects to designated centers. Data analysis involved Epi Info version 7 and IBM SPSS Statistics 25.

Results

Among 472,435 screened ind

SUBMITTER: Ghosh D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11442318 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature