
Kala Azar training programme in endemic districts of Jharkhand
WHO India and the National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control Program asked the DNDi Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative India Foundation to provide a training with other trainers for health care professionals in Jharkhand. The training was held between September 21 and 24, 2021 in the kala azar endemic districts of Jharkhand.
Medical officers, ANMs, laboratory technicians, and other professionals were among the 197 people who received training as part of this initiative.
The programme was organised to educate newly hired health-care workers in the state who had never been taught on how to diagnose and treat various forms of Visceral Leishmaniasis. It was highlighted as a gap in the program’s goal of eliminating Kala Azar.
Dr. Gaurab Mitra of the DNDi Drug for Neglected Diseases Initiative India Foundation was invited as one of the trainers because of his expertise in the kala-azar elimination effort.
The diagnosis and management of Kala Azar disease were discussed during the training programme. Because Liposomal Amphotericin B is a parentral therapy with potential adverse effects, the process for using it as a first line therapy was thoroughly taught. In addition, specific instances such as HIV-VL and Post Kala Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis were examined. Pharmacovigilance training was also given by a team of WHO doctors.