Complete Manual (83 pp, PDF)

Cover and Contents   |   Introduction

Chapters
1. VL and Primary Health Care
2. VL and the Physician
3. VL and Laboratory Diagnosis
4. Treatment of VL and Side Effects
5. VL in Immunocompromised Patients
6. VL and the Veterinary Surgeon
7. VL and Public Health Interventions
8. VL and the Ministry of Health
9. VL and the Research Scientist

Appendices: List
1. Geographical Distribution of VL
2. Regional Differences in the Epidemiology of VL
3. Insecticide Impregnation of Bednets
4. Culture of Leishmania from Aspirate or Biopsy Samples
5. Giesma Staining and Haetomology
6. Formol-Gel Test
7. Direct Agglutination Test
8. Immunofluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT)
9. ELISA for Anti-Leishmania Antibodies
10. Leishmanin Skin Test (Montenegro)
11. Drug Supplies, Costs and Import Restrictions
12. Insecticides and Their Use

Abbreviations, Illustrations

* The workshop was initiated by the Overseas Development Administration (UK) as part of an ODA-funded research project. It was co-organized and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), with supplementary support from the European Commission (EC) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada).

Manual on
Visceral Leishmaniasis Control

(PAHO/WHO/ODA, 1996)

In March 1995, an international workshop took place at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on the control of visceral leishmaniasis (VL).*

The objectives of the workshop were as follows:

1. Produce a simple manual on the control of VL for the community, the physician, the diagnostician, the veterinary surgeon, the public-health worker, and the research scientist.
2. Make the manual widely available in endemic regions and facilitate its translation into the appropriate languages:
    español   |  português   |   français
3. Link efforts on control in the New and Old Worlds and make the guide applicable in both.

There are many publications that concern the control of infectious diseases, and this is certainly not the first that is relevant to VL. Two features of the international workshop and this report are, however, unusual:

1. During the workshop, interactive subgroups set down and answered the specific questions that confront those working at diverse levels on the control of VL.
2. The text is divided into sections corresponding to the different roles of individuals.

This manual makes no attempt to present a scholarly debate on research enigmas. It is designed to provide a usable summary to the common practicalities of dealing with VL. To use the manual, simply turn to the section of interest. Sections 1–9 are largely usuable independently (except for the brief summaries of equipment at the end of each section) but, where necessary, follow the cross-references to other sections.