Nepal poised to eliminate Kala-azar this year
Summary
Nepal is on track to eliminate Kala-azar this year after achieving a significant decrease in new infections and deaths, following intensive surveillance and control programs.
Key Points
- Kala-azar infection rate in Nepal has dropped to less than one case per 10,000 people, nearing elimination criteria.
- Deaths from Kala-azar have remained below one percent, meeting a key threshold for disease elimination.
- The disease vector, female phlebotomine sandfly, has been found at higher altitudes than previously thought, posing new challenges.
- Nepal, along with Bangladesh and India, committed to eliminating Kala-azar as a public health problem in the Indian subcontinent by 2015, but progress was delayed by sporadic cases in non-endemic districts.
