A trend prevalence of visceral Leishmaniasis in West Armachiho District, Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that affects animals and humans. An estimated 3.2 million people are at risk of VL, and 3700–7400 cases occur annually in Ethiopia. The highest numbers of VL cases have been previously reported from the North Western parts of the country, especially in West Armachiho District. The aim of this study was to determine the trend prevalence of VL at the study area. Methods Health center based retrospective data were collected to determine the trend prevalence of VL among patients who had blood examination from January 2010 to August 2015. The blood samples were collected by finger pricking and the infections were confirmed by using rK39 antibody test. Result Of the 9299 VL suspected cases, 1948 (21%) were positive for rK39 antibody test. Of these, 1757 (90.2%) were primary kala-azar cases, 167 (8.6%) were relapse and the remaining 24 (1.2%) were post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis cases. Conclusions The prevalence of VL is still high in the study area. Therefore, early case detection, diagnosis, treatment, and timely analysis are essential.