Visceral Leishmaniasis Treatment and Its Challenges
Published: 2020-04-01
Page: 307-322
Issue: 2019 - Volume 2 [Issue 4]
Israt Jahan Khan Chowdhury
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshai-6205, Bangladesh.
Md Fazlul Haque *
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshai-6205, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is generally termed as kala-azar, black fever, and Dumdum fever and it is known to be the most severe form of leishmaniasis. Without any proper diagnosis and treatment it causes high fatality rate. It is a disease generally caused by protozoan parasites of genus Leishmania. Miltefosine is the first oral treatment for this disease. The cure rate of miltefosine in Phase III clinical trials is 95%. This review is focused on the drugs available for the treatment of VL, their effectiveness and future challenges.
Keywords: Leishmaniasis, leishmania, visceral, treatment.