[Epidemiological characteristics of Kala-azar disease in China, during 2005-2015]

Objective: To explore the epidemiological characteristics of Kala-azar disease in China from 2005 to 2015, to provide evidence for the development of related control and measurement strategies. Methods: Data was obtained from Disease Reporting Information System of China CDC, to compare factors on type, distribution, peak season and the age of onset of the cases. Results: Epidemic of Kala-azar had been persistent in China. Number of the reported cases declined in Sichuan and Gansu provinces but two outbreaks had occurred in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The epidemic was confined in few areas. The reported cases were mainly from Xinjiang, Gansu and Sichuan, with the total cases in these three provinces accounted for 95.29% of all the cases seen in the country. The main peak season was from October to November, followed by April. There were significant differences seen in the age distributions of canine Kala-azar, anthroponotic Kala-azar and wildlife-oriented Kala-azar (P<0.05) cases. Majority of the cases involved under 3-year-olds, with peak age in under 1-year-olds for wildlife-oriented Kala-azar. For anthroponotic and canine Kala-azar cases, most of them were seen among the under 10 years old, with the peak among the 5-year-olds. Conclusions: In recent years,Kala-azar had been seen endemic and persistent, in the mid-west regions of China, but with different epidemiological characteristics. Further study on Kala-azar should be carried on to include appropriate measurements and strategies, according to the features of the disease, in the mid-western areas of China.