5-Year (2014-2018) Trends of Visceral Leshmaniasis in Amhara Region, North west Ethiopia

Abstract Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL; also known as kala-azar), caused by protozoan parasites of the Leishmania donovani complex, is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Despite VL is endemic in the lowlands of Amhara region, and is almost always fatal if left untreated, there is no report that shows regional wide trends of VL cases over years of period.Method: A retrospective data to determine cumulative number of cases, trends in incidence and mortality rate, and geographic coverage of VL over 5 years period (2014-2018) was obtained from Health Management Information System (HMIS) database owned by Amhara Regional Health Bureau Leishmaniasis Service. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data.Results: Over 5 years of period (2014-2108), a total of 5,624 VL cases were registered across all zones of Amhara Region.The majority of these VL patients (90%) were adult while, men being the most affected ones (87%) than women (13%). High incidence rate of VL with a trend of steady increment over the 5 years period was observed. The highest fatality rates were recorded in North Gondar zone and No fatality rates were recorded in North Wollo , South wollo ,North Shoa ,East gojam and West gojam respectively. With regard to health service attendance, 58% of VL cases were register outpatient attendees.Conclusion: VL was reported in almost all parts of the Amhara region posing a serious challenge on provision of diagnosis and treatment services, especially in areas where the disease has never been reported before. Additionally, adult men representing the working group of the community were the most sufferers of VL, suggesting the bad consequence on the socio-economy of the region. To overcome those challenges associated with VL, training health care providers on prompt diagnosis and clinical management of VL along with other strategies is imperative.