'Dramatic growth' in parasitic disease in Somalia

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of human cases of a parasitic disease that causes enlargement of the liver and spleen in Somalia, according to a leading humanitarian organisation.

Doctors staffing a Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) clinic in the country observed a sevenfold increase in cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a disease transmitted by sand flies which can lead to death if untreated, between 2005 and 2006.

At the same time the researchers also claimed that their figures may represent an under-reporting of the true extent of the disease's spread in the war-torn country.

"Our experience suggests that VL is substantially underreported in Bakool region and possibly in neighbouring regions of southern Somalia," the researchers said.

"The true magnitude of the problem of VL in Somalia is likely to remain unknown and documentation and implementation of effective interventions to control VL will be limited as long as there will be no safe access to population and inexistent health care services," they added.

According to Reuters, there are 500,000 new cases of VL reported worldwide every year, with over 90 per cent of them occurring in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, and Brazil.

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