Health-Seeking Behavior and Out-of-Pocket Expenditure in Patients with Visceral Leishmaniasis in Nepal

摘要

Leishmaniasis is endemic in 88 countries and 350 million people are at risk for acquiring one or the other form of leishmaniasis with an overall prevalence of 12 million worldwide. The visceral type, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar was known to be endemic in Southern Terai (plain region) of Nepal since 1953. Approximately 5.5 million inhabitants are estimated to be at risk of VL in Nepal at present.