Retrospective Record Assessment of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) Patients in Kahsaye-Abera Hospital and Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Pertaining to Visceral Leishmaniasis Among the Indigenous People and Migrant Workers in Kafta- Humera District
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Date
2005-04
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
According to a substantial body of evidence, leishmaniasis is posing burden on
people of all ages living in different parts of the world at varying degrees of
morbidity and mortality. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is endemic in the south,
southwest, north, North West and north east peripheral low lands of Ethiopia.
K/Humera, in Tigray Region is VL endemic. Its proximity to the Sudan, economic
attraction and a venue for several migrant workers further complicates the
problem. With the objective of describing the magnitude of visceral leishmaniasis
at Kahsaye-Abera Hospital, a study was conducted using a pre-tested
questionnaire and a retrospective clinical records review.
The knowledge and practice of both migrant workers and indigenous people was
found to be 56.1%, 77.2% and 6.9%, 68% respectively. Out of the 931 migrant
workers, 69% were familiar with the work kala azar compared to 85.8% of the
indigenous population. A bit higher than 40% of both cohorts accessed the
information from health facilities with only 4% of the labor migrant force and
14.7% of the local inhabitants from the media. A wide gap of behavioral practice
was evidenced between the labor migrants and local residents, where 93.1%
migrant workers and 29% indigenous people exhibited poor practice towards
visceral leishmaniasis. Of the 882 retrospectively reviewed patients’ records, only
174 (19.7%) had no any inter-current infections whereas majority of the group
80.2% had atleast one concurrent infection with the highest rate of respiratory
infections, 48.4% and the HIV/leishmania co-infection was as high as 25%. HIV
co-infected VL cases were seven times more likely to relapse compared to HIV
negative VL cases. Respondents were less familiar with the sandflies as the
major players in the transmission of VL (kala azar) and had unsatisfactory
perception and poor practice towards kala azar. Moreover, mortality and HIV/VL
co-infection rate was among the highest. Health workers and other stake holders
should join hands to adequately disseminate information to the community to
actively participate in the sphere of prevention
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Keywords
visceral leishmaniasis (VL)