Visceral leishmaniasis outbreaks in Bihar: community-level investigations in the context of elimination of kala-azar as a public health problem.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With visceral leishmaniasis (VL) incidence at its lowest level since the 1960s, increasing attention has turned to early detection and investigation of outbreaks.

Methods

Outbreak investigations were triggered by recognition of case clusters in the VL surveillance system established for the elimination program. Investigations included ascertainment of all VL cases by date of fever onset, household mapping and structured collection of risk factor data.

Results

VL outbreaks were investigated in 13 villages in 10 blocks of 7 districts. Data were collected for 20,670 individuals, of whom 272 were diagnosed with VL between 2012 and 2019. Risk was significantly higher among 10-19 year-olds and adults 35 or older compared to children younger than 10 years. Outbrea

SUBMITTER: Priyamvada K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7810196 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature