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Visceral leishmaniasis

About: Visceral leishmaniasis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7486 publications have been published within this topic receiving 184865 citations. The topic is also known as: Kala-Azar & viscus leishmaniasis.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The rK39 ELISA is a relatively simple and rapid assay for assessing the infection status of dogs, and is an alternative to IFAT, especially when screening large numbers of samples.

120 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
18 Jun 1999-AIDS
TL;DR: Treatment of VL with meglumine antimoniate or amphotericin B was shown to have similar efficacy and toxicity rates in Spanish HIV-infected patients, and the differences in the toxicity patterns could be useful in choosing one of these agents as first-line treatment.
Abstract: BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis is common in patients with HIV infection living in endemic areas, but the most effective and safe treatment remains unknown. OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of meglumine antimoniate versus amphotericin B in HIV-infected patients with first episodes of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). DESIGN An open, multicentre, prospective and randomized trial. SETTING Twelve tertiary hospitals. PATIENTS Eighty-nine consecutive HIV-infected patients diagnosed with VL. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with either meglumine antimoniate (20 mg pentavalent antimony per kilogram of body weight per day) or amphotericin B (0.7 mg/kg per day) both for 28 days. Treatment was considered successful if a bone marrow aspirate performed 1 month after the end of therapy did not detect parasites. Relapse was defined as the reappearance of parasites after an initial cure. RESULTS An initial cure was attained in 29 of 44 patients (65.9%) randomly assigned to treatment with meglumine antimoniate and 28 of 45 (62.2%) randomly assigned to treatment with amphotericin B. The incidence of moderate to severe adverse events was similar in both groups. The patients treated with meglumine antimoniate had higher incidences of cardiotoxicity (14 versus 0%, P = 0.02) and chemical pancreatitis (30 versus 0%, P < 0.01). However, in the amphotericin B group, nephrotoxicity was more frequent (36 versus 5%, P < 0.01). There was no difference in survival or relapse-free interval according to the allocated group of therapy. CONCLUSION Treatment of VL with meglumine antimoniate or amphotericin B was shown to have similar efficacy and toxicity rates in Spanish HIV-infected patients. The differences in the toxicity patterns could be useful in choosing one of these agents as first-line treatment.

120 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The prevalence of infection indicates the existence of natural infection in apparently healthy wild carnivore populations, and the results are suggestive of a sylvatic cycle independent of dogs.

120 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The balance of expression of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha (protective) and IL-10 and TGF-beta (disease progression) in lymph nodes determine parasite burden and clinical expression in naturally infected dogs.

120 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Effective control of VL in Bangladesh will require activities to improve availability and access to diagnostic testing and antileishmanial drugs, enhanced surveillance for kala-azar, post-kala-zar dermal leishmaniasis and VL treatment failures, and increased coverage and efficacy of vector control programmes.
Abstract: The parasitic disease kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis, VL) was first described in 1824 in Jessore district, Bengal (now Bangladesh) Epidemic peaks were recorded in Bengal in the 1820s, 1860s, 1920s, and 1940s After achieving good control of the disease during the intensive vector control efforts for malaria in the 1950s-1960s, Bangladesh experienced a VL resurgence that has lasted to the present Surveillance data show an increasing trend in incidence since 1995 Research in recent years has demonstrated the utility of non-invasive diagnostic modalities such as the direct agglutination test and rapid tests based on the immune response to the rK39 antigen In common with its neighbours India and Nepal, VL in Bangladesh is anthroponotic Living in proximity to a kala-azar case is the strongest risk factor for disease, while consistent use of bed nets in the summer months and the presence of cattle are protective Shortages of first-line antileishmanial drugs and insecticide for indoor spraying programmes have hindered VL treatment and vector control efforts Effective control of VL will require activities to improve availability and access to diagnostic testing and antileishmanial drugs, enhanced surveillance for kala-azar, post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis and VL treatment failures, and increased coverage and efficacy of vector control programmes

120 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023192
2022442
2021269
2020285
2019286
2018253