The Distribution of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Ethiopa

Abstract

A total of 50 cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) were diagnosed among 1,184 patients examined in different parts of Ethiopia. The overall male: female sex ratio was 4:1. About 56% of the cases occurred in the 15- to 29-year age group. The incidence of VL in Aba Roba Village was 5.2 per 1,000 population. New foci of transmission identified include lowlands of Algena, Nakfa, Afabet, Teseney, and Genale River Basin, and west of Moyale.

Identification of environmental parameters and risk mapping of visceral leishmaniasis in Ethiopia by using geographical information systems and a statistical approach

“…3d). These are all, except for the Hammer area, previously well described major VL foci in Ethiopia (Ayele and Ali, 1984;Ali and Ashford, 1993;Gebre-Michael and Lane, 1996;Hailu et al, 2009). …”

“…However, VL cases are relatively rare in these areas and the prevalence of persons with positive skin tests is low (Berhe et al, 1998). The disease has been reported further eastward in the Moyale area and Genale River basin in the Oromia regional state near the Kenyan border (Ayele and Ali, 1984). More recently, it has also been reported in the south-eastern semiarid lowlands of the Afder and Liben areas of the Somali regional state (Marlet et al, 2003).…”

“…The local vector Phlebotomus orientalis is found associated with red acacia trees and black cotton soil (Gebre-Michael et al, 2010). These foci account for over 60% of the total burden of VL in Ethiopia with the highest reported co-infection rate (~38%) with HIV (Ayele and Ali, 1984;Lyons et al, 2003). A marked increase of VL occurred here when migrant labourers from the nonendemic highlands began to arrive in the area to harvest crops on the large-scale agricultural schemes introduced in the 1970s (Fuller et al, 1976;Mengesha and Abuhoy, 1978;Maru, 1979;Hailu and Frommel, 1993).…”

“…The foci in the south-western savannah and the south-eastern semiarid lowlands are the second largest areas with VL, accounting for 20% of the total burden (Ayele and Ali, 1984). The south-western foci are in the Omo and Aba Roba plains and the Weyto and Segen River valleys in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Regional State (SNNPR).…”

“…The lower Omo plains, populated by nomadic or semi nomadic pastoralists, constitute the oldest known VL focus in Ethiopia. The highest VL endemicity in the Southwest is found in the Aba Roba plain (Ali and Ashford, 1993), while sporadic cases have been reported from Lake Abaya, and the Dawa and Genale river valleys (Lindtjorn, 1980;Ayele and Ali, 1984). However, VL cases are relatively rare in these areas and the prevalence of persons with positive skin tests is low (Berhe et al, 1998).…”