KARACHI, Feb 3: Leishmaniasis, a poverty-related disease, has affected 8,119 people during 45 days time period, from Dec 15, 2004, to February 1, this year, as against 11,000 cases reported during the first eleven-and-a-half months of 2004.

Sindh's Additional Health Secretary (Technical) Dr Shafqat Abbasi said this on Thursday at a seminar, "The Dread Diseases of Rural Pakistan", organized by the Pakistan Press Foundation at the Vicky Zeiltin Media Library.

He said the provincial health department, being fully cognizant of the situation, was ensuring provision of drugs for the treatment of the patients suffering from the disease, besides taking necessary measures to create public awareness to prevent it.

Giving details of the cases reported from different parts of the province, he said that the highest number of such cases were reported from Dadu, coming to 5,776, followed by Larkana (1,004), Sukkur, 470, Shikarpur (237), Jacobabad (236), Naushero Feroz (135), and Khairpur, where 121 cases were traced.

He said concerted efforts were required to bring about behavioural changes in the residents of the areas, mainly rural, with due consideration for cleanliness, to check the disease prevalence.

Moreover, to ensure proper diagnosis and timely medical intervention, orientation programmes about the disease were also being arranged for the healthcare providers working in these areas, he added.

Other speakers, including Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi, Provincial Operational Officer, WHO, Dr Khawar Saleem, head of Dermatology section, PNS-Shifa Hospital, and Dr M H Pirzada, senior veterinarian, observed that the public health impact of Leishmaniasis had been grossly underestimated.

The trend was attributed mainly to a lack of awareness of the disease's serious health impact, although its economic and social impact was also quite tangible. It was mentioned that Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, normally produced skin ulcers on exposed parts of the body, such as the face, arms and legs, with a large number of lesions causing serious disability and sometimes leaving the patient permanently scarred.

Dr Ghulam Nabi also referred to the stigma attached to the disease despite the fact that it was self-limiting in the backdrop of the fact that there was no effective vaccine available against any form of leishmaniasis as yet.

It was mentioned that Leishmaniasis was caused by a species of protozoan parasites, transmitted by the bite of the female phlebotomine sand fly, and that the parasite in the zoonotic type seen in Sindh was found in rodents such as rats, dogs, squirrels, mongooses, etc.

When the rodents died, the sand flies consumed their blood and transmitted it into human beings, the speaker mentioned, reminding that the epidemiological pattern of the disease observed in the NWFP, however, suggested anthroponotic transmission (man to man) through the sand fly vector with no animals involved.

The sand fly appeared from its habitation in the summer, and goes into hibernation in the winter to lay eggs and breed, only to reappear in February, Dr G N Kazi mentioned, adding that the flies appeared after sunset from holes and cracks in mud houses.

He particularly suggested provision for mosquito nets, particularly for pregnant women and general population in the affected localities. Dr Khawar, a dermatologist from the PNS Shifa Hospital, with considerable experience of research work on the disease, mentioned that the situation in context of disease was getting extremely alarming.

He disagreed with the frequently made submission for spraying the disease-hit areas, mentioning that it was not only expensive but also a temporary solution. Dr Pirzada strongly recommended elimination of stray dogs, saying they were the most potent carriers of the parasite. -APP