This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report.
Up to five-hundred-million people are infected each year with adisease called leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis). Most of thevictims are young children in poor countries. An organism called theleishmaniasis parasite causes the disease. It is spread by the biteof a sandfly. The insect passes the parasite from dogs to humans.
Recently, a study found thatchildren could be protected from visceral leishmaniasis if dogs wearcollars with chemicals to guard against insect bites. Dog collarsare worn around the neck. They usually are made of metal or animalskin.
There are four forms of leishmaniasis. Visceral leishmaniasiscauses high body temperature. It also can affect some organs of thebody. Victims may not produce enough white blood cells. The diseasewill kill if it is not treated. Most victims of visceralleishmaniasis are in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal and Sudan.
In the study, research scientists from Britain and TabrizUniversity in Iran studied eighteen Iranian villages during a periodwhen leishmaniasis often is spread. The researchers gave chemicallytreated collars to dog owners. After one year, the researcherstested dogs and children in all the villages for the parasite, knownas Leishmaniasis infantum. The infection rate was cut by fifty-fourpercent in dogs. The rate in children dropped by forty-two percent.
Using chemically treated dog collars is one of several ways tocontrol the spread of leishmaniasis. One method is to cover or sprayhouses with chemicals designed to kill insects. Another way is todestroy dogs without owners and other animals that show signs of thedisease.
These methods are reported to have helped in China. However, theyhave not been very effective in other areas. In Brazil, for example,the number of leishmaniasis cases has risen slowly during the pasttwenty years. The researchers report that two-hundred-thousand homesin Brazil were sprayed and twenty-thousand dogs destroyed each yearduring this period.
The World Health Organization estimates that twelve-millionpeople are infected with leishmaniasis worldwide. The W-H-Oestimates that at least three-hundred-fifty-million people ineighty-eight countries may be at risk of infection.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.