{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T02:49:13Z","timestamp":1789958953644,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773360000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NIH"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100023865","name":"icipe","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100023865","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    This viewpoint draws lessons from the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) as a public health problem in the Southeast Asia region (SEAR) to inform efforts in East Africa (EA), now the global epicenter of\n                    <jats:italic>Leishmania donovani<\/jats:italic>\n                    transmission. VL is fatal and there is no licensed vaccine. Success in India relied on robust surveillance, rapid diagnosis, single-dose treatment, vector control, and multi-partner coordination. EA faces additional challenges than SEAR with multiple sand fly vectors, sensitive diagnostics and longer treatment regimens, high population mobility, and gaps in ecological and epidemiological knowledge. We highlight how strategies from South Asia could be adapted while acknowledging EA\u2019s unique ecological and health system complexities. These insights aim to guide sustainable VL control towards elimination of VL as a public health concern in the region.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014088","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T17:38:13Z","timestamp":1773423493000},"page":"e0014088","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Adapting lessons from the Indian subcontinent to accelerate elimination of visceral leishmaniasis as a public health problem in East Africa"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9027-0523","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Eva","family":"Iniguez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Masiga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caryn","family":"Bern","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7536-9625","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sridhar","family":"Srikantiah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"pntd.0014088.ref001","unstructured":"World Health Organization. Strategic framework for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis as a public health problem in eastern Africa 2023\u20132030. 2024;Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO."},{"issue":"6","key":"pntd.0014088.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2023-012638","article-title":"Social determinants of visceral leishmaniasis elimination in Eastern Africa","volume":"8","author":"J Alvar","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMJ Glob Health"},{"issue":"12","key":"pntd.0014088.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2604","DOI":"10.3201\/eid3012.240649","article-title":"Dogs as reservoirs for Leishmania donovani, Bihar, India, 2018-2022","volume":"30","author":"AK Kushwaha","year":"2024","journal-title":"Emerg Infect Dis"},{"issue":"6","key":"pntd.0014088.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1909","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiae156","article-title":"Visceral leishmaniasis-human immunodeficiency virus-coinfected patients are highly infectious to sandflies in an endemic area in India","volume":"229","author":"OP Singh","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Infect Dis"},{"key":"pntd.0014088.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"648903","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2021.648903","article-title":"Development and evaluation of active case detection methods to support visceral leishmaniasis elimination in India","volume":"11","author":"P Dubey","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Cell Infect Microbiol"},{"key":"pntd.0014088.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1001","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2458-12-1001","article-title":"Active case detection in national visceral leishmaniasis elimination programs in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal: feasibility, performance and costs","volume":"12","author":"MM Huda","year":"2012","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"pntd.0014088.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"641632","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2021.641632","article-title":"Towards a sustainable vector-control strategy in the post kala-azar elimination era","volume":"11","author":"R Garlapati","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Cell Infect Microbiol"},{"issue":"8","key":"pntd.0014088.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1128\/mbio.01079-24","article-title":"Discovery of new antigens for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in humans and dogs adds valuable tools to our arsenal","volume":"15","author":"E Iniguez","year":"2024","journal-title":"mBio"},{"key":"pntd.0014088.ref009","article-title":"High seropositivity to rK39 and capture of leishmania-infected sand flies in Bihar and Jharkhand emphasize the need for post-elimination surveillance of visceral leishmaniasis in India","author":"E Iniguez","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Infect Dis"},{"key":"pntd.0014088.ref010","article-title":"Widespread transmission in diverse ecotypes challenges visceral leishmaniasis control in East Africa","author":"E Iniguez","year":"2025","journal-title":"medRxiv"}],"container-title":["PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014088","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T17:38:17Z","timestamp":1773423497000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014088"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Sarman","family":"Singh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014088","relation":{},"ISSN":["1935-2735"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1935-2735","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]]}}}