Jorge Alvar, Iván Darío Vélez, Caryn Bern, Mercè Herrero et al.
As part of a World Health Organization-led effort to update the empirical evidence base for the leishmaniases, national experts provided leishmaniasis case data for the last 5 years and information regarding treatment and control in their respective countries and a comprehensive literature review wa...
Caryn Bern, Allen W. Hightower, Rajib Chowdhury, Mustakim Ali et al.
Since 1990, South Asia has experienced a resurgence of kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis). To determine risk factors for kala-azar, we performed cross-sectional surveys over a 3-year period in a Bangladeshi community. By history, active case detection, and serologic screening, 155 of 2,356 residents...
Dinesh Mondal, Caryn Bern, Debashis Ghosh, Masud Rashid et al.
BACKGROUND: On the Indian subcontinent, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) incidence is on track to reach elimination goals by 2020 in nearly all endemic districts. Although not included in official targets, previous data suggest post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients can act as an infection r...
Caryn Bern, Joseph E. Sniezek, Golam M. Mathbor, Maqsood Siddiqi et al.
Cyclones continue to pose a dangerous threat to the coastal populations of Bangladesh, despite improvements in disaster control procedures. After 138,000 persons died in the April 1991 cyclone, we carried out a rapid epidemiological assessment to determine factors associated with cyclone-related mor...
Caryn Bern, Rashidul Haque, RAJIB CHOWDHURY, Mustakim Ali et al.
We examined the epidemiology of kala-azar and asymptomatic leishmanial infection measured by serologic and leishmanin skin test results in a Bangladeshi community. In a subset, we measured serum retinol, zinc and C-reactive protein (CRP). Kala-azar and seroconversion incidence were 15.6 and 63.1 per...
Denise O. Garrett, Ashley T Longley, Kristen Aiemjoy, Mohammad Tahir Yousafzai et al.
BACKGROUND: Precise enteric fever disease burden data are needed to inform prevention and control measures, including the use of newly available typhoid vaccines. We established the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP) to inform these strategies. METHODS: From September, 2016, to Se...
Caryn Bern, Rajib Chowdhury
The parasitic disease kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis, VL) was first described in 1824 in Jessore district, Bengal (now Bangladesh). Epidemic peaks were recorded in Bengal in the 1820s, 1860s, 1920s, and 1940s. After achieving good control of the disease during the intensive vector control efforts...
Indu B. Ahluwalia, Caryn Bern, Cristiane Maria Amorim Costa, Tangin Akter et al.
Visceral leishmaniasis, or kala azar (KA), affects the rural poor, causing significant morbidity and mortality. We examined the epidemiologic, social, and economic impact of KA in a village in Bangladesh. A population-based survey among 2,348 people demonstrated a KA incidence of 2% per year from 20...
Kazi Mizanur Rahman, Shamim Islam, Muhammad Waliur Rahman, Eben Kenah et al.
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) occurs after kala-azar treatment and acts as a durable infection reservoir. On the basis of active case finding among 22,699 respondents, 813 (3.6%) had had kala-azar since 2002, of whom 79 (9.7%) developed PKDL. Eight additional patients with PKDL had no h...
D. Anoopa Sharma, Caryn Bern, Beena Varghese, Rajib Chowdhury et al.
Summary Objectives To explore current patterns of diagnosis and treatment, quantify household economic impact and identify household strategies to cover the costs of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) care in rural Bangladesh. Method Structured interviews with 113 VL patients from 87 households documenting...
Caryn Bern, Leanne Unicomb, Jon R. Gentsch, N Banul et al.
To improve the understanding of the relative importance of serotypes of rotavirus in dehydrating diarrhea, we examined the correlation of clinical characteristics and disease severity with serotype in 2,441 diarrheal episodes among children younger than 2 years of age in rural Bangladesh. Of 764 rot...
Mary Cameron, Álvaro Acosta-Serrano, Caryn Bern, Marleen Boelaert et al.
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected vector-borne disease. In India, it is transmitted to humans by Leishmania donovani-infected Phlebotomus argentipes sand flies. In 2005, VL was targeted for elimination by the governments of India, Nepal and Bangladesh by 2015. The elimination strategy consi...
Ricardo Molina, Debashis Ghosh, Eugenia Carrillo, Séverine Monnerat et al.
We compared xenodiagnosis with quantitative polymerase chain reaction in skin biopsies from 3 patients with maculopapular or nodular post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). All patients infected sand flies. Parasite loads in skin varied from 1428 to 63 058 parasites per microgram. PKDL detection...
Katie Kurkjian, Aida J. Mahmutovic, Kathryn L. Kellar, Rashidul Haque et al.
BACKGROUND: The clinical spectrum of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a chronic intracellular parasitic disease, ranges from a subclinical, asymptomatic infection to severe clinical disease (kala-azar). In experimental leishmaniasis, mice that have a Th1 response to infection tend to have limited diseas...
Shamim Islam, Eben Kenah, Mohammed Ashraful Alam Bhuiyan, Kazi Mizanur Rahman et al.
We conducted active surveillance for kala-azar and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in a population of 24,814 individuals. Between 2002 and 2010, 1,002 kala-azar and 185 PKDL cases occurred. Median PKDL patient age was 12 years; 9% had no antecedent kala-azar. Cases per 10,000 person-years...