Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care.
Somalia, ravaged by conflict since 1991, has areas endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a deadly parasitic disease affecting the rural poor, internally displaced, and pastoralists. Very little is known about VL burden in Somalia, where the protracted crisis hampers access to health care. We revi...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:842a220dd8ac4a39a11aa7ae0a53b931 2023-05-15T15:07:48+02:00 Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. Temmy Sunyoto Julien Potet Marleen Boelaert 2017-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005231 https://doaj.org/article/842a220dd8ac4a39a11aa7ae0a53b931 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5344316?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005231 https://doaj.org/article/842a220dd8ac4a39a11aa7ae0a53b931 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 11, Iss 3, p e0005231 (2017) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005231 2022-12-31T08:16:20Z Somalia, ravaged by conflict since 1991, has areas endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a deadly parasitic disease affecting the rural poor, internally displaced, and pastoralists. Very little is known about VL burden in Somalia, where the protracted crisis hampers access to health care. We reviewed evidence about VL epidemiology in Somalia and appraised control options within the context of this fragile state's health system. VL has been reported in Somalia since 1934 and has persisted ever since in foci in the southern parts of the country. The only feasible VL control option is early diagnosis and treatment, currently mostly provided by nonstate actors. The availability of VL care in Somalia is limited and insufficient at best, both in coverage and quality. Precarious security remains a major obstacle to reach VL patients in the endemic areas, and the true VL burden and its impact remain unknown. Locally adjusted, innovative approaches in VL care provision should be explored, without undermining ongoing health system development in Somalia. Ensuring VL care is accessible is a moral imperative, and the limitations of the current VL diagnostic and treatment tools in Somalia and other endemic settings affected by conflict should be overcome. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11 3 e0005231 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Temmy Sunyoto Julien Potet Marleen Boelaert Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Somalia, ravaged by conflict since 1991, has areas endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a deadly parasitic disease affecting the rural poor, internally displaced, and pastoralists. Very little is known about VL burden in Somalia, where the protracted crisis hampers access to health care. We reviewed evidence about VL epidemiology in Somalia and appraised control options within the context of this fragile state's health system. VL has been reported in Somalia since 1934 and has persisted ever since in foci in the southern parts of the country. The only feasible VL control option is early diagnosis and treatment, currently mostly provided by nonstate actors. The availability of VL care in Somalia is limited and insufficient at best, both in coverage and quality. Precarious security remains a major obstacle to reach VL patients in the endemic areas, and the true VL burden and its impact remain unknown. Locally adjusted, innovative approaches in VL care provision should be explored, without undermining ongoing health system development in Somalia. Ensuring VL care is accessible is a moral imperative, and the limitations of the current VL diagnostic and treatment tools in Somalia and other endemic settings affected by conflict should be overcome. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Temmy Sunyoto Julien Potet Marleen Boelaert |
author_facet |
Temmy Sunyoto Julien Potet Marleen Boelaert |
author_sort |
Temmy Sunyoto |
title |
Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. |
title_short |
Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. |
title_full |
Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. |
title_fullStr |
Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Visceral leishmaniasis in Somalia: A review of epidemiology and access to care. |
title_sort |
visceral leishmaniasis in somalia: a review of epidemiology and access to care. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005231 https://doaj.org/article/842a220dd8ac4a39a11aa7ae0a53b931 |
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Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 11, Iss 3, p e0005231 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5344316?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005231 https://doaj.org/article/842a220dd8ac4a39a11aa7ae0a53b931 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005231 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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11 |
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