Clinical aspects of kala-azar in children from the Sudan: a comparison with the disease in adults.

The clinical presentation of kala-azar in 43 children and 45 adults was compared. In both groups fever, left upper quadrant abdominal pain and swelling, and weight loss were equally the most common presenting symptoms. Lymphadenopathy was observed in 86 per cent of children and 76 per cent of adults.

Congenital kala-azar and leishmaniasis in the placenta.

During an epidemic of visceral leishmaniasis in the Sudan, two cases of congenital kala-azar were seen. The first child, whose mother had contracted kala-azar in southern Sudan, was born in Khartoum, where no transmission of leishmaniasis is currently occurring. At seven months, the child had fever, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly; leishmania parasites were detected in the bone marrow.

Direct agglutination test for diagnosis and sero-epidemiological survey of kala-azar in the Sudan.

132 patients with suspected kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis) were included in a prospective study to compare the performance of the direct agglutination test (DAT) with smears of lymph node, bone marrow and splenic aspiration. A titre greater than 1:3200 was considered positive. 67 patients provided positive smears and 65 were smear-negative.

Kala-azar in displaced people from southern Sudan: epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic findings.

Six hundred and ninety-three patients with kala-azar were seen in Khartoum, Sudan, from January 1989 to February 1990. They were almost exclusively from the Nuer tribe, originating from the western Upper Nile province in southern Sudan, an area not known previously to be endemic for kala-azar. Because of the civil war in southern Sudan no treatment was available locally and massive migration to northern Sudan occurred; many died on the way.