WHO/Europe collaborates with the Republican Tropical Diseases Control Center in Tajikistan on treatment of parasitic diseases
WHO
WHO provided two thousand vials of the medicine "Glukantim" to the Republican Tropical Diseases Control Center for the treatment of parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania. The parasites are transmitted by the bite of a tiny (2–3 mm long) insect, the phlebotomine sandfly. There are two main clinical manifestations: visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Leishmaniasis is the most severe form of the disease and is fatal in almost all cases.
More than 1 billion people suffer from one or several tropical diseases worldwide. The WHO Country Office in Tajikistan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Republican Tropical Diseases Control Center, are cooperating to ensure that the epidemiological situation is under control. According to scientific sources, mortality of infected children affected with leishmaniasis can reach 98% if they are not treated promptly with leishmaniasis-specific drugs.
"It should be noted that the timely availability of appropriate drugs and providing the quality health care services will lead to success in treating the disease", said Dr Pavel Ursu, WHO Representative/Head of WHO Country office in Tajikistan. "The effective collaboration and work in this area indicate that these activities are technically feasible, provide immediate results, tangible and highly powerful effects in treatment of this disease”.
The WHO Country Office in Tajikistan will continue joint cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Republican Tropical Diseases Control Center at the national, regional and international levels.
In the near future WHO Headquarters and WHO/Europe plan to assess the situation of leishmaniasis and undertake further measures to strengthen the capacity of health systems for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of leishmaniasis.
