Harsh Vardhan
Harsh Vardhan reviews status of Kala Azar in Four States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal
New Delhi: Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare today chaired an event to review the status of the disease Kala-Azar in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Mangal Pandey, Minister of Health, Bihar, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, West Bengal, Jai Pratap Singh, Minister of Medical and Health, Family Welfare, Mother and Child Welfare, Uttar Pradesh and Banna Gupta, Health, Medical Education & Family Welfare, Jharkhand were also present in the event.
The Union Health Minister started by reminding the audience that the Government of India is strongly committed to the elimination of Kala Azar.
He stated “Kala Azar is the 2nd largest parasitic killer in the world after Malaria and results in a 95% fatality rate if the patients are not treated."
"Additionally, up to 20% of the patients who are correctly treated and cured, develop a skin condition called Post-Kala-Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) which surfaces within months to years after treatment," he said.
He said, "These patients can contain large amounts of parasites in their skin lesions, making them an important source of transmission.”
He was apprised that there are 54 districts in four states namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal that are currently affected by Kala-azar with sporadic cases in other states like Assam, HP, J&K, Kerala, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand.
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