Deadly Disease Threatens Africa [Archives:2000/45/Health]

JOHANNESBURGAfrica is under the threat of a deadly tropical disease, Kala-Azar, which has returned to Calcutta, Indias most populous city, British Airways Travel Clinics (BATC) said on Monday.
The deterioration of the situation in India should sound an alarm in Africa. Kala-Azar occurs in Africa, where HIV has been facilitating the spread of this disease. We have seen this happening in East Africa, BATC medical director Dr. Andrew Jamieson said in a statement issued here. The parasitic disease, spread by sand flies, kills by destroying liver, spleen and bone marrow, Jamieson said. He said this was the first outbreak of the disease since 1961,when it was thought the sand fly hosts were eradicated by insecticides used in an anti-malaria campaign. Jamieson said Kala-Azar was both difficult and expensive to treat, therapy often taking months to achieve cure.
In the case of people who were HIV-positive, available treatments were unable to cure the disease. In such patients, the lifelong suppressive treatment required was unaffordable for most governments.
Jamieson added that control of Kala-Azar was made difficult by the fact that the disease could hide in a number of animal reservoirs, including domestic dogs and rodents. Kala-Azar, also known as Leishmaniasis, was spreading at the rate of 500,000 new cases annually and 350 million people throughout the world were at risk of infection.
No vaccine was available and Jamieson advised travelers to affected countries to adopt personal protection measures against insect bites, such as the use of effective insect repellents. (Xinhua)

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