Visceral Leishmaniasis is a disease that persists in India despite the WHO's 2020 elimination target inching closer. The National Vector-Borne Disease Control Program has also reported an increase in PDKL cases. Therefore, PKDL cases should be given priority and this may pose a major challenge for the elimination of VL. Therefore, it is appropriate for policy managers to review strategies and adopt changes if necessary. We extensively examined the healthcare-seeking behavior of patients with PKDL, as well as treatment delays and its determinants in a low-resource, high-VL burden setting. A much longer delay (median: 285 days) was observed for disease confirmation as PKDL, indicating poor healthcare-seeking behavior by PKDL patients. Similar to our findings, a longer patient delay was observed in another PKDL study conducted in Bangladesh. A longer delay has also been reported in breast cancer and tuberculosis. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay A much longer delay in the diagnosis of PKDL is of great concern for the elimination of VL. Since delay in diagnosis of VL and PKDL may increase infectivity, worsen disease status and increase the risk of emerging new endemic outbreaks. There is currently no accurate information/data available on the burden of PKDL, and the existing program is unable to detect or manage PKDL cases at the peripheral level with the limited resources available to them. However, early diagnosis and timely treatment remain essential components of an effective VL elimination program. Aside from skin changes, patients with PKDL do not suffer from any disease or physical discomfort. They resort to treatment only when the lesions have intensified or the patients are of marriageable age. Furthermore, despite kala-azar in the past, they were not aware of the connection between kala-azar and PKDL. Therefore, effective counseling of patients or their family members during the Kala-azar episode is essential. Patients working as laborers or farmers reported a longer delay in seeking care than patients involved in other occupations (p) a significant difference in patient and healthcare system delay was observed based on their choice of first healthcare provider .Patients who attended the PHC had reduced delay in seeking treatment.The possible explanation could be the trained healthcare workers available at the PHC They suspect a PKDL individual at the screening itself and therefore immediately refer the suspected individual to the center nearest healthcare provider available. Longest healthcare system delay (median: 802 days) was also obtained in our study. A considerable number of patients in our study initially turned to quacks, homeopathic and Ayurvedic practitioners. to a delay in the system. It has also been found that greater distance to the PHC may possibly increase the delay in seeking care. However, early adopters of PHC found that patients with monomorphic skin lesions had a shorter delay in seeking care, compared to patients with polymorphic skin lesions. Patients with polymorphic lesions experienced more visual disfigurements or deformities than monomorphic lesions. This may be the reason for the long delay in patients with monomorphic lesions. Furthermore, the.
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