The Prayatn

• Caused by Leishmania Donovani Parasite and harboured by an insect called the Sandfly. • Habibpur block, barely 30 km from Bangladesh, is considered particularly vulnerable to kala-azar outbreaks. • Kala-azar is a parasitic disease that is confined to humans, meaning that unlike, say, bird flu, there is no other animal that harbours the infection in Asia. Endemic to the Indian subcontinent in 119 districts in four countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal), India itself accounts for half the global burden of the disease. • If untreated, kala-azar can kill within two years of the onset of the ailment, though the availability of a range of drugs for almost a century has meant that less than 1 in 1,000 now succumb to the disease. • According to numbers from the Union Health Ministry, 2016 was the first year that no kala-azar death was reported in India. Experts, how...

  • HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 35 million lives so far. In 2016, 1.0 million people died from HIV-related causes globally. • 54% of adults and 43% of children living with HIV are currently receiving lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART). • Global ART coverage for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV is high at 76% . • The WHO African Region is the most affected region, with 25.6 million people living with HIV in 2016. The African region also accounts for almost two thirds of the global total of new HIV infections. • HIV infection is often diagnosed through rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which detect the presence or absence of HIV antibodies. Most often these tests provide same-day test results, which are essential for same day diagnosis and early treatment and care. • Key populations are groups who are at increased risk of HIV irres...

Zika fever disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. People with Zika virus disease can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days. There is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Introduction Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys through a network that monitored yellow fever. It was later identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. From the 1960s to 1980s, human infections were found across Africa and Asia, typically accompanied by mild illness. The first large outbreak of disease caused by Zika infection was reported from the Island of Yap (Federated States of Micronesia) in 2007. In J...

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. The first EVD outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests. The 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa involved major urban areas as well as rural ones. There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralize the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development. Background The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. Ebola virus disease (EVD) first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, one in what is now, Nzara, South Sudan, and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred in ...

Rubella is a contagious, generally mild viral infection that occurs most often in children and young adults. Rubella infection in pregnant women may cause fetal death or congenital defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Worldwide, over 100 000 babies are born with CRS every year. There is no specific treatment for rubella but the disease is preventable by vaccination. Rubella is an acute, contagious viral infection. While the illness is generally mild in children, it has serious consequences in pregnant women causing fetal death or congenital defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). The rubella virus is transmitted by airborne droplets when infected people sneeze or cough. Humans are the only known host. Symptoms In children, the disease is usually mild, with symptoms including a rash, low fever (<39°C), nausea and mild conjunctivitis. The rash, which occurs in 50–80% of cases, usually starts on the face and neck before progressing down the b...

Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available. In 2015, there were 134 200 measles deaths globally – about 367 deaths every day or 15 deaths every hour. Measles vaccination resulted in a 79% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2015 worldwide. In 2016, about 85% of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 73% in 2000. During 2000-2015, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 20.3 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health. Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family and it is normally passed through direct contact and through the air. The virus infects the respiratory tract , then spreads throug...