Table 2.
Clinico-epidemiological characteristics of the study population living in VL-endemic regions in two districts in the state of West Bengal, India
| Household contacts, n (%) | Neighbor contacts, n (%) | Both, n (%) | None, n (%) | Total, n (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent contacts of either VL and/or PKDL in different study groups | Asymptomatic | 5 (12.82) | 32 (27.11) | 8 (25) | 10 (17.54) | 55 (22.35) | |
| EHCs | 28 (71.79) | 59 (50) | 10 (31.25) | 21 (36.84) | 118 (47.96) | ||
| HVL | 6 (15.38) | 27 (22.88) | 14 (43.75) | 26 (45.61) | 73 (29.67) | ||
| Total | 39 (15.85) | 118 (47.96) | 32 (13) | 57 (23.17) | 246 | ||
| PCR | rK39 strip test | Total | Kappa value, κ | ||||
| Positive | Negative | ||||||
| Comparative analysis of rK39, PCR results | Positive | 8 (29.62) | 45 (20.54) | 53 (21.54) | κ = 0.089, P = 0.13 | ||
| Negative | 19 (70.37) | 174 (79.45) | 193 (78.45) | ||||
| Total | 27 (10.97) | 219 (89.02) | 246 | ||||
| Analysis of parasite load in blood samples | Range of parasite load/mL blood from healthy individuals with or without history of VL from endemic and nonendemic areas, evaluated using qPCR technique | ||||||
| Positive | Negative | < 5 | 5–10 | 11–25 | 26–50 | > 50 | |
| H/VL (N = 89) | 16 | 73 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Rest (N = 157) | 37 | 120 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| NEHCs (N = 20) | 0 | 20 | |||||
EHC = endemic healthy control; HVL = healed visceral leishmaniasis; H/VL = healthy individuals with history of VL; NEHCs = nonendemic healthy individuals; PCR = polymerase chain reaction; PKDL = post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis; VL = visceral leishmaniasis.