SEROPREVALENCE OF VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE OF NORTH INDIA

Introduction: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic disease caused by parasites of the Leishmania donovani complex. Due to its initial non-specific symptoms, it is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed even in endemic areas. This results in high morbidity and unacceptable mortality related to this preventable and treatable disease.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of data was done to evaluate the seroepidemiological trends of VL in north India from 2008 to 2013 performing rk39 immunochromatographic test (ICT) and aldehyde test on clinically suspected VL cases.

Results: Of the 1186 clinically suspected leishmaniasis cases screened, 105(8.85%) were positive for anti-leishmania antibodies by the rk39 ICT and 115(9.69%) by the aldehyde test. In 51 of rk39 ICT positive cases, culture from bone marrow aspirate was performed and it was positive in 12(11.42%) cases.

Discussion: Although prevalence of VL is low in most regions of India, efforts should be made to actively seek out cases by having a high index of suspicion of VL in areas of high prevalence and focus prevention and control efforts in these places.