Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

According to WHO, NTD’s are a diverse group of Communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries. They affect more than one billion people and cost developing economies billions of dollars every year. 

The diseases are called neglected because they do not receive much attention. They occur most often in developing countries where Populations live in poverty, without adequate sanitation, suffer from lack of proper nutrition and live in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock. Of the 20 currently listed NTD’s, Leishmaniasis is the disease of Interest in the division. 

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL)

There are three main forms of Leishmaniases: Visceral Leishmaniasis (also known as Kala-azar and the most serious form of the disease), Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (the most common), and Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis. The disease is caused by the protozoan Leishmania parasites which are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies. VL is the most serious of the three forms and it is fatal if left untreated in over 95 percent of cases. It is characterized by irregular bouts of fever, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. Most cases occur in Brazil, East Africa and inSouth-East Asia. An estimated 50,000 to 90,000 new cases of VL occur worldwide each year out of which only an estimated 25–45 percent are reported to WHO. In 2017, more than 95 percent of new cases reported to WHO occurred in 10 countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.  In 2017, 20,792 out of 22,145 (94percent) new cases of VL reported to WHO occurred in seven countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan